BS 480 
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



Chap. Copyright No. _,. 

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Shelf. 



p v . v 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



THE DIVINE ORIGIN 



-AND- 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 



ESTABLISHED FROM A NEW TRAIN OF 
FACTS AND ARGUMENTS. 



DESIGNED FOR 

THE COMFORT OF CHRISTIANS AND THE CON- 
VICTION OF UNBELIEVERS. 



BY 

REV. JAMES H. SCATES, 
Center, Texas. 



LOUISVILLE, KY.: 

BAPTIST BOOK CONCERN, 



aW 



-e> v » 



S*3 



Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in year 1896, by 

Rev. JAMES H. SCATES, 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



PREFACE. 



Believing that a small work, setting forth in 
simple language some of the evidences of the 
divine origin and authority of the Bible would 
be acceptable to the masses of the people and 
would be read with interest and profit by them, I 
have written the present work. It is not a com- 
pilation, but almost an exclusively original com- 
position, presenting new arguments and eviden- 
ces not to be found elsewhere. Vast efforts are 
being made by professed scientists and infidels 
to undermine the Bible, and thus overthrow the 
Christian faith. But all their efforts will prove 
futile and vain. They will only pull down de- 
struction upon themselves, while the Book will 
stand, as it has always stood, all the wrath of 
men and the malice of devils. You must not 
suppose that this is all that can be said in de- 
fense of the Bible. It is a very meager sketch. 
It is not the thousandth part Volumes upon vol- 
umes might be written without exhausting it. 
Evidences of Christianity have been written 
oftentimes by profoundly able and scholarly 
men, but the evidences (that is all the evi- 
dences) have never been written, and never can 
be written, for they sweep the universe. 



DEDICATION. 



To the people of the living God is this book 
affectionately dedicated. May it confirm their 
faith, brighten their hopes, animate their zeal, 
assuage their sorrows, and cheer them in their 
conflict with sin, and earth, and hell. 



CHAPTER I. 



THE EXISTENCE OF GOD. 

THE religious feeling is the most pervading 
and powerful of the human heart. Wher- 
ever man has been found his leading and distin- 
guishing characteristic has been that he was a 
worshipping creature. It is certain that he will 
worship something, — sun, moon, stars, stocks, 
stones, beast of the field, or some other object. 
So strong is this feeling implanted in his nature 
that it has often led him to the sacrifice of his 
own offspring to propitiate his offended deities. 

Now what does this undeniable fact prove? 

Why, that there is somewhere an object of 
worship — that there is somewhere a Supreme 
Intelligence to whom is due the adoration of the 
human heart. The possession of sight implies 
the existence of light, otherwise sight is useless. 
Hence, fishes in dark caves lose their sense of 
seeing. The possession of hearing implies the 
existence of sound; of smell the existence of 
odors. So we see there is a correspondence be- 
tween all the senses and the objects that call 
them forth and bring them into exercise. So of 
man's mental faculties. On every hand he is 



8 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

surrounded by the profoundest problems de- 
manding his investigation and solution. With- 
out this mental discipline, he could never be 
strengthened and developed. In like manner in 
regard to man's moral and spiritual nature. 
There is no faculty of the human mind or affec- 
tion of the human heart without a corresponding 
object to call forth its exercise and to satisfy its 
wants. Thus we see there is an absolute corre- 
lation existing throughout the whole creation — 
wants on the one hand, and objects to gratify 
those wants on the other. Now the point of the 
argument is this: as we have light for the eye, 
sound for the eaf, odor for the nostrils, and 
problems for the mind; so we must have God 
for the worshipping faculty. If we have not, 
then there is a break in the unity and harmony 
of the laws of nature. There is a link out of the 
chain that throws the whole order of the uni- 
verse into confusion. 

Now there is another strange fact in the history 
of our race. And that is the universal sense of 
sin. Amongst all people in every stage of civ- 
ilization, under every form of government, 
through all ages, this has been true. How will 
you account for this undeniable fact? It can 
only be done by admitting the existence of a 
Supreme Being whose laws man has transgressed. 
These laws were originally inscribed upon man's 
heart. They were incorporated into his very 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 9 

constitution; and tho' blurred and dimmed their 
power is still felt by every human being, always 
testifying to the existence of law and a Lawgiver. 

Again, let us walk forth some calm, clear, 
beautiful night and lift our eyes to the starry 
canopy and behold the millions and millions of 
flaming orbs in the heavens, rolling in grandeur 
and magnificence through the fields of space, 
burning suns, fiery comets, blazing meteors. 
I ask how came they there? Who made them? 

To this question but one answer can be given. 
That answer is, Almighty God — Omnipotent, 
Omniscient, Eternal. Look out upon the broad 
ocean. See those mighty ships plowing the 
briny deep ! Does any one doubt that some one 
made them? None. Neither can we doubt when 
we behold the great worlds moving in grandeur 
and glory some one made them, even God. If 
one is a legitimate inference so is the other. If 
you accept one you cannot reject the other. 

Observe likewise the beauty, harmony and 
design displayed in their construction and move- 
ments. How came all this? Where there is de- 
sign and adaptation there must be intelligence. 
These must find their basis in God. 

The deepest intuitions of reason and the hu- 
man heart in all ages and amongst all nations 
have instinctively acknowledged the same great 
truth — the existence of a Supreme Power. 
Perhaps ten thousand to one of all the multi- 



10 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

tudes of earth have accepted this fact. It may 
not be within the range of the human mind to 
originate the idea of God; but being once re- 
vealed, it can never be lost; because it falls in 
with and meets the wants of his nature and is 
the key to the mysteries of his being and the 
wonders of the universe. 

When we turn to man's moral and spiritual 
nature, we are involved in utter bewilderment 
unless we accept the existence of a Supreme 
Being. Here is a wild waste wrapped in gloom 
and hopeless darkness, if there be no God. No 
genius, no learning, no talent can penetrate the 
inextricable maze — night broods over the pro- 
found deep. Whence did that strange faculty 
called conscience come? — conscience that takes 
cognizance of the moral qualities of actions — 
approves the right and condemns the wrong. 
But there can be no right and wrong unless 
there is a law determining it. And there can 
be no law without a Lawgiver, who is the ever- 
lasting Creator and Preserver of all things. 

It is an established and certain fact that all 
life is derived. There can be no life without 
antecedent life. There can be no self-originating 
life. This being so, it is demonstrably certain 
that all the life in the world must have come 
down from the great center and source of all 
life, that is from God. 

To recapitulate briefly the argument: 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. II 

I have shown the existence of God — 

First — From, the worshipping faculty in man 
which necessarily involves the idea of God, the 
object to be worshipped. 

Second — I have shown the existence of God 
from the universal sense of sin which involves 
the existence of violated law — law necessarily 
implies a Lawgiver— that is God. 

Third — I have shown that the whole material 
universe testifies to the existence of God, both 
in its magnitude and design. 

Fourth — I have shown that it was almost the 
universal sentiment of the race that some being 
made and governed the world. 

Fifth — I have shown from, conscience that 
notes the difference between right and wrong, 
that no such thing as right and wrong could ex- 
ist without a Supreme Power to establish that 
difference. 

Sixth — I showed that all life is derived — no 
life is self-originating. This is the clearest de- 
ductions of science. Hence all the life in the 
world must have come down from the great 
source and fountain of all life, that is from God. 

These evidences might be multiplied almost 
indefinitely, but it does not comport with my de- 
sign to elaborate any subject, but merely to 
sketch the outlines of truth. 



12 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 



CHAPTER II. 



GOD BEING BENEVOLENT, MUST NECESSARILY 
HAVE MADE A REVELATION TO MAN; THE 
BIBLE MUST BE THAT REVELATION, AS IT 
SOLVES ALL THE GREAT PROBLEMS THAT 
CONFRONT US, SUCH AS THE ORIGIN OF THE 
UNIVERSE, THE ENTRANCE OF MAN ON THIS 
SPHERE, THE BEGINNING OF LIFE, THE 
ORIGIN OF MORAL SIN. 

"\TOW it is manifest that this being, whose 
L^l existence we have proven, is a being of 
infinite power and wisdom. That he is likewise 
benevolent is evident from the fact that the 
pleasures of life vastly outweigh the miseries, 
and that the most bountiful provision has been 
made on every hand for man's development, 
comfort and happiness. 

It is further clear that in the whole creation, 
there w T as nothing made with the design of 
causing suffering— that is, suffering was not the 
primary design of its creation; suffering being 
merely incidental and the sequence of violated 
law. It was introduced into the system to re- 
mind man of his dependence and mortality, and 
to keep perpetually before his mind the mourn- 



AUTHORITY OP THE BIBLE. 13 

ful fact that he was a transgressor of God's 
holy law. 

Now, if God be benevolent, he certainly would 
not have left his creature, man, without any 
knowledge of his origin, duty and destiny; how 
he came into this world; the relations he sus- 
tains to his Creator; the duties he owes to him 
and to his fellow-man. He likewise would cer- 
tainly have given him a knowledge of the crea- 
tion of the world and all things, seeing it was 
an utter impossibility for him to have learned 
these things in any other way than by a direct 
revelation. 

This being premised, it follows that any book 
from God must give an account of the origin of 
the universe; for evidently the world was made 
before man was placed upon it. Hence, the 
world being created before man was, it was im- 
possible for the latter to know how the former 
came into being unless God made it known to 
him. Therefore, if we have any knowledge 
whatever of the beginning of the material uni- 
verse it .must have come to us by revelation. 

Now, in the Bible we have a plain, simple 
statement of the origin of things. It says, "In 
the beginning God created the heavens and the 
earth." Here is no speculation, no conjecture, 
no theorizing; but a plain statement of fact. 
How strongly this narrative contrasts with all 
other accounts of creation. This is the only 



14 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

plausible or rational account that has ever been 
given, or can be given. Outside of this all is 
conjecture, assumption, surmising. We must, 
then, accept the Bible statement in regard to 
this matter, or remain forever in hopeless dark- 
ness on this subject. For independent of this 
account there is not one single gleam of light to 
illumine our pathway. We must walk by this 
light or walk in darkness the balance of our 
days. The learned have never been able to 
frame even a plausible theory on this question 
— one that is supported by even a solitary fact. 

There is another problem that has puzzled the 
inquiries of all ages, and that is, how man be- 
came an inhabitant of this globe. That he is 
here is an undoubted fact. How did he come 
here? The Bible says, "God created him out of 
the dust of the earth." The scientist says, he 
was evolved through countless ages from a 
moneron, or monad, the lowest order of animated 
life — a mere speck of jelly-like substance — and 
passed on by successive steps through all the 
grades of animated nature — fish, reptile, monkey, 
etc., up to man. This is pure assumption, un- 
supported by any facts whatever. Moreover, it 
involves a complete change in the laws of nature, 
for the race is not multiplied in this way now. 

In this connection, we will call your attention 
to another grave question with which the learned 
world have grappled in vain, and that is, the 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 15 

origin of life. Now, what life is in its essence, 
no man living knows. Science can not even 
give a definition of it. We only know it by its 
manifestations. But that it is something, a 
reality, a substantial entity, is undeniable. 
There was a time wlien there was no life on this globe. 
This is agreed on all hands. This is alike the 
teaching of the Bible and the most advanced 
science. Geologists point us to the primary 
strata of the earth and show that they contain 
no organic remains whatever. Again, they point 
us to the higher strata, and show us imbedded 
in the solid rock myriads of once living creatures. 
Life suddenly appears. Whence did it come? 
The Bible says it came from God — God created 
the fowls of the air, the fish of the sea and the 
beasts of the field. And of man it is said, "God 
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and 
man became a living soul." Now, we must ac- 
cept this account, or admit that life rose spon- 
taneously, that is, without a cause. To do this 
is to ignore all the experience of the race, the 
facts of science and the dictates of reason. 
Hence we see that whenever we leave the Bible 
we are at once surrounded on all sides by inex- 
tricable difficulties — by questions it is impossi- 
ble for the human intellect ever to solve. The 
mightiest minds of earth stand absolutely ap- 
palled and helpless when brought to face the 
questions we have been so briefly considering. 



16 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

There is no possible solution of them but that 
which the Bible gives. This we must accept, 
or, like the little caged bird, we must beat the 
bars of our prison house through never ending 
years. 

But we are not yet through the discussion of 
these primary problems, which have so much 
interested inquirers in all ages. The next we 
present is the origin of moral evil. This is 
the mystery of mysteries. Prodigious efforts 
through long ages have been made to account 
for it. 

The mightiest intellects of earth have wres- 
tled in vain with it. Like the stone of Sysiphus 
it has always rolled back into the awful depths 
of its own profundity. They have been utterly 
confounded and bewildered when they have 
attempted to account for it. That it is here is a 
mournful fact. Its shadow is upon every heart, 
its blight upon every life. I ask whence did it 
come ? How did it happen that a curse so with- 
ering entered this fair and beautiful world ? I 
ask the wise men of the world. I ask the hoary 
headed sage. I ask the philosophy of all ages! 
All dumb — all silent as the grave. No response 
comes to the inquiry. In sadness and sorrow I 
turn my thoughts within and ask my soul: O 
why am I so far off from God and holiness? So 
estranged from good? So prone to evil? No 
answer comes up from the deep depths of my 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 17 

heart. I turn to the Bible. It is all radiant 
with light. It is all aglow with life. It tells me 
God made man upright — endowed him with 
ability to stand, tho' free to fall. He placed 
him in a garden of delights, all beautiful and 
glorious. He walked in fellowship with his 
Creator, and held sweet communion with God; 
but in an hour of temptation he transgressed the 
divine law, lost his allegiance to his Maker, and 
thus introduced death into the world and "all 
our woe." Since which misery has followed his 
footsteps — his life is a life of unrest — a life of 
toil and sorrow till death cuts him down and the 
grave swallows him up. Such is the Bible 
account of the entrance of sin into the world. 
Now what shall we do about it ? Shall we accept 
the light or remain in hopeless ignorance on the 
subject forever ? Unaided by divine revelation 
man has never been able to offer anything what- 
ever in solution of this problem. Without this, 
there is no star in the horizon to shine upon our 
pathway — no light to illumine the darkness that 
surrounds us. Shall we walk by the light we 
have, or shall we grope our way in the gloom of 
night ? For my part, I accept the light and re- 
joice in it. 

There is another fact that has an important 
bearing in this connection and which furnishes 
the most convincing proof of the divine origin 
of the Bible. That fact is the curse which we 



18 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

are told God pronounced on the earth for man's 
sake — that thorns and thistles should it bring 
forth. Now here is a curse pronounced thou- 
sands of years ago, the fulfillment of which lies 
right before our eyes. It is a matter of daily 
realization by the whole race through all ages. 
Now how was it possible for any one to know 
that this curse would hold good through all 
time, but God or he to whom God should reveal 
it ? It is not natural nor possible for the ground 
itself to discriminate against cereals and in 
favor of noxious weeds. Why is it that one 
grows spontaneously and the other only under 
diligent culture ? They require the same soil — 
the same light and heat — the same moisture. I 
ask the botanist, I ask the scientist, Why the 
difference ? No answer can be given but the 
Bible answer — the earth still groans under the 
primeval curse. Here then is a great fact re- 
corded ages ago in the Bible, testified by all his- 
tory and verified by every man's daily experi- 
ence. What will you do with it ? You can not 
deny it. You must accept it. If you accept 
it, you accept the Bible as the Book of God. 

Before concluding this chapter there is one 
more question of vital importance to which I 
invite your attention; and that is the curse of 
labor. Why is it that man, the noblest of God's 
creatures, is doomed to perpetual toil — toil, toil 
for a bare subsistence— exposed to the summer's 



AUTHORITY OP THE BIBLE. 19 

sun and the winter's storm. The birds of the 
air and the beasts of the field are furnished with 
natural clothing for their protection and food 
for their sustenance. But man, poor man, must 
labor and dig" and delve for a support. Why 
this ? We must go back to the Bible for an 
answer. Human learning utterly fails to meet 
the inquiry. It has absolutely nothing to say on 
the question. The Bible statement is, "In the 
sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou 
return unto the ground. " This was because man 
had sinned. 



20 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 



CHAPTER III. 



MIRACLES. 

THE Bible furthermore gives us an account 
of the Israelites, the most peculiar and 
wonderful people that ever lived. Their history 
is absolutely unparalleled. It tells of the call of 
Abraham, their ancestor; of God's covenant with 
him and his promise to make a great nation of 
his posterity; of his son Isaac and the renewal 
of the promise to him; and likewise of his off- 
spring, Esau and Jacob. It tells how the latter 
after a train of providential events moved down 
into Egypt and there by a strange mutation of 
fortune became bondsman to the Egyptians. It 
gives us an account of Moses and his wonderful 
preservation; of his call to be their leader and 
deliverer. It tell us of the wonderful miracles 
Moses wrought before Pharaoh in order to in- 
duce him to let the people go; such as turning 
the waters of the Nile into blood; covering the 
land with frogs, lice, flies; afflicting cattle with 
murrain, the people with boils; calling up myr- 
iads of locusts; covering the land with darkness 
and causing the death of the firstborn in every 
Egyptian family. 



AUTHORITY OP THE BIBLE. 21 

Now it must be confessed that these were very 
extraordinary events. If Moses actually per- 
formed these wonders they stamp him as com- 
missioned from God. Now let us briefly exam- 
ine these miracles and see whether or not they 
are supported by adequate testimony. If they 
are, then the divine mission of Moses and the 
claims of the Old Testament to be the word of 
God are fully authenticated. If they are not, 
we need not prosecute our inquiries any farther; 
for if we fail here in these fundamental facts, 
we fail all along the line. What evidence, then, 
have we that these miracles were really wrought? 
I answer, the evidence of the whole Jewish na- 
tion, some three millions of people, who were 
present and were eyewitnesses of their occur- 
rence. You say they were mistaken. This is 
utterly inadmissible. These miracles were too 
marvellous, too diversified, too long continued, 
too public and notorious to admit of any such sup- 
position. If people cannot believe the evidences 
of their senses — what they see, hear and feel — 
what can they believe? But you do not escape 
the difficulty by claiming that they were mis- 
taken, if such were the case. You only avoid 
one difficulty by encountering a greater; and that 
is, three millions of people believed they saw the 
waters of the Nile turned into blood when they 
saw no such thing; that three millions of people 
believed they saw myriads of locusts devouring 



22 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

every green thing when there was not a locust 
in all the land; that three millions of people be- 
lieved they heard the wail of sorrow in every 
Egyptian family because of the death of the 
firstborn when no body at all had died. Fur- 
thermore, that three millions of people believed 
they were delivered from the most abject slav- 
ery; led out by a high hand; passed dry shod 
through the Red sea; were guided by a pillar of 
cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night; were 
fed by manna and quails, drank water from the 
smitten rock and all this through a space of 
forty years; and finally crossed the Jordan, 
which parted its waters for this purpose, and 
entered triumphantly into the land of Canaan. 
If they were deceived in regard to the miracles 
wrought in Egypt for their deliverance, they 
must have been deceived in regard to all those 
accompanying their march through the wilder- 
ness and their entrance into the promised land. 
If they were mistaken, then you have on your 
hands a miracle vastly transcending all the 
others put together. You must account for the 
fact that the Jews believed all these things. 
They believed them because they witnessed 
them, because they had personal knowledge of 
their reality. They could not have been de- 
ceived in regard to them. There is no room for 
any supposition. It is utterly absurd. They 
could not be deceived in regard to the most pal- 



AUTHORITY OP THE BIBLE. 23 

pable facts of which the senses can take cogni- 
zance. We are then absolutely shut up to the 
belief that these events took place. If they did, 
they show beyond all controversy the divine 
origin of the Bible. We see then that the 
claims of the Bible to be from heaven do not 
rest upon tradition, or educational bias, or mere 
assumptions, but upon the most substantial facts 
addressed to our reason and sober judgment. 

But this is not all the evidence we have. It 
has been the custom of all ages and nations to 
perpetuate great national events by the observ- 
ance of a day, the erection of monuments, or the 
keeping of festivals. Thus in our history the 
observance of the Fourth of July keeps in re- 
membrance the fact that the Declaration of 
Independence took place on that day. 

In Boston, there is a vast granite pile called 
Bunker Hill Monument, built to keep in remem- 
brance the fact that a great battle was fought 
there. Likewise in Baltimore there is the Wash- 
ington Monument, erected to perpetuate the 
character and services of the Father of his 
Country. So our government is now engaged 
in setting apart and marking with statues and 
monuments the locality of great battles in the 
late war. 

Now we read in the Bible that the very night 
of the departure of the Israelites from Egypt 
the angel of the Lord swept through the land 



24 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

and laid low in death the firstborn of every 
Egyptian family, sparing the firstborn of every 
Hebrew family. This remarkable event must 
have deeply and profoundly impressed every 
heart, both of the Egyptians and the Hebrews. 
Now that it might never be forgotten, that it 
might be kept in perpetual remembrance through 
all generations, God directed that a feast called 
the Passover should be instituted. It was called 
the Passover because the angel of death in his 
flight thro' the land passed over all those houses 
on whose lintels and doorposts was found sprin- 
kled the blood of the paschal lamb. Now it is 
notorious and undeniable that this feast origi- 
nating under such circumstances and appointed 
for such a purpose has been continued by the 
Jews through all ages down to the present time 
so far as has been practicable in their dispersed 
condition. Now let me ask, "Does the observ- 
ance of the 4th of July by the American people 
prove that the Declaration of Independence took 
place on that day?" You answer, yes. If so, 
does not the observance of the Passover prove 
that the firstborn of every Egyptian family was 
slain on the night of the departure of the Israel- 
ites? You must answer, yes. If one is demon- 
strative evidence, so is the other; for they are 
exactly parallel. If you accept the one you 
must accept the other. No possible reply can 
be made to this argument. 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 25 

Nor is this all. There was the feast of Pente- 
cost, observed in commemoration of the giving 
of the law on Mt. Sinai. The people were to be 
reminded of their bondage in Egypt, and they 
were especially admonished of their obligation 
to keep the divine commandments. (Deut. 16:12.) 

FEAST OF TABERNACLES. 

The Jews, in migrating from Egypt into 
Canaan, dwelt in booths, or tents. To keep 
fresh in their memory the great facts of their 
deliverance and journey through the wilderness 
the Feast of Tabernacles was appointed. When 
the feast fell on a Sabbatical year, portions of 
the Law were read each day to men, women, 
children and strangers. (Deut. 31:10-13.) In 
this feast their journeyings were portrayed, 
and thus vividly kept in remembrance. They 
were, in point of fact, enacted over in miniature. 
The great events of their deliverance from bond- 
age, the giving of the Law and their journey- 
ings were thus interwoven into the very fabric 
of their institutions, and have been continued 
down to the present time. Did it comport with 
the design of this work, we should like to elab- 
orate more fully this subject and bring out in 
full force the tremendous evidence that is in it. 
Suffice it to say, no other people, either in an- 
cient or modern times, can present one-hundredth 
part of the testimony to the facts of their history 



26 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

that the Jews can. The history of all other peo- 
ple is shrouded in darkness and doubt more or 
less, especially in their earlier periods. The 
facts recorded are rather conjectural than other- 
wise — no competent witnesses having ever ob- 
served and reported them, and no memorials 
having ever been erected to perpetuate them. 
Now, here to-day, right before our eyes, in our 
very midst, is this wonderful people who can 
trace back their history to the remotest antiqui- 
ty — to their very first progenitor, Abraham. 
These people were personally cognizant of all 
the great events of their history; these events 
were recorded by their leader and lawgiver at 
the time of their occurrence, read in their hear- 
ing and received their sanction. They were 
likewise embodied in memorial observances 
which have come down to the present time. 

Besides these, there were many other feasts 
among the Jews — all referring back in some way 
to the facts of their deliverance, and at the same 
time pointing forward to man's spiritual deliver- 
ance from the thraldom of sin through the sac- 
rifice and mediation of Christ. In fact, no writ- 
ings in the world are so rich in original and 
primitive ideas and fundamental principles. 
Never in the history of the earth is there to be 
found a system so peculiar, so wonderful, so un- 
approachable. Man, unaided by revelation, 
could no more have devised it than he could 



AUTHORITY OP THE BIBLE. 27 

have created the world. After the study of 
thousands of years we are just beginning to un- 
derstand its marvellous depths and amazing 
riches. 

Another very striking and conclusive proof of 
the divine origin of the Old Testament is de- 
rived from the burdensome character of the Jew- 
ish religion. It is a well-known fact that the 
Jews are the most money-loving and money- 
getting people in the world. Now, this peo- 
ple, it is estimated, gave one-half of all their in- 
come (counting their time) to support their re- 
ligion. This they certainly would not have done 
unless it had been attested by the most over- 
whelming proofs of its divine origin. That 
their religion was from heaven was to their 
minds the most certain of all truths. The 
writers claimed to have received their knowl- 
edge from God. This of itself is a very strong 
proof when we consider their modesty and hu- 
mility, the dignity of their character and the 
moral excellence of their lives. 

There is another provision in the Mosaic In- 
stitutions that render it positively certain that 
those institutions were of divine origin. I allude 
to that requirement of the law that forbid the 
sowing of the land every seventh year — the land 
was to rest. Now, no mere human legislator 
would ever have ventured to insert such a pro- 
vision in his code unless he had received express 



28 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

instructions from God; because without God's 
providential care such an enactment would have 
resulted in famine and ruin. It would do it now. 
No people can afford to withhold sowing with- 
out meeting dire calamity. But the Jews did 
this, not only every seventh year, but likewise 
every year of Jubilee. And did it without det- 
riment, because God made provision for their 
support. 

There is still another very remarkable provis- 
ion in the Mosaic laws which stamp those laws 
with divine origin and authority. All the males 
were required to go up to Jerusalem three times 
a year to celebrate their national feasts, leaving 
their property and families in a defenceless 
state, surrounded on every side by enemies — 
God having promised that on such occasions he 
would restrain their enemies from invading 
them. Now, no lawgiver without divine sanc- 
tion would have ventured such an enactment. 
This is positive proof that Moses received au- 
thority from God to incorporate this law into 
his code. 

THE MORAL LAW. 

There is found in this wonderful code what is 
denominated the moral law — the most marvel- 
lous compend of duty to be found in the whole 
range of literature or law. It is a code abso- 
lutely perfect. There is nothing like it. Whence 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 29 

did Moses get such a law, but from God? It 
could not have come from any other source. It 
sweeps the whole field of man's relations to God 
and to his fellow- man. Nothing is left out. Not 
all the wisdom of the world has ever been able 
to suggest any amendment. It stands all alone 
in its stately grandeur, unapproached and un- 
approachable. It is alike the wonder and aston- 
ishment of jurists, statesmen, philosophers and 
theologians. Here we have a standard — a per- 
fect rule by which to measure our heart and 
conduct; a rule so strict and rigid that it suffers 
no deviation whatever from its requirements of 
absolute love to God and man, for this is its 
summary. The law is strictly and rigidly just, 
for men ought to love God with the supreme 
affections of their hearts, and they ought to 
love their fellow-men. Reason and conscience 
alike approve this. Now, the law being just, 
being strict and extending its claims over all 
rational intelligences, and being the very founda- 
tion of God's moral and spiritual government 
over the universe, must have a penalty corre- 
sponding to its purity and importance. This is 
death — death in its deepest sense and widest 
sweep. Death temporal, death spiritual and 
death eternal are all involved in it. Nothing 
less could have been an adequate expression on 
the part of an infinitely holy God for the trans- 
gression of an infinitely holy law. This law is 



30 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

so transcendent — taking cognizance of the 
thoughts, feelings and affections of the heart as 
well as the outward acts of life — no man has 
ever kept or can keep it. Now, either man made 
this law or God made it. But it is positively 
certain man would not make a law he could not 
keep and then annex the penalty of death for not 
keeping it, therefore God must have made it. 
If God made it, then it is divine, and the book 
that contains it is from heaven. 

PROPHECY. 

Here I shall be very brief, as I do not wish to 
present anything the truth of which you can not 
verify. 

Deut. 28:52, 53— You will read: Thou shalt 
be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth, 
and thou shalt become an astonishment, a prov- 
erb and a byword among all nations whither the 
Lord shall lead thee. Here is the prediction ut- 
tered and recorded thousands of years ago. 
Look around you on every side and see its exact 
fulfillment. Indeed, do you not yourself furnish 
evidence of its accomplishment. Have you not 
often yourself read the expression, "As rich as 
a Jew," "As close as a Jew," thus using the 
term "Jew" as a byword. 

Turn and read the entire chapter referred to 
above and see how exactly it has been fulfilled 
in the history of this wonderful people. 



AUTHORITY OP THE BIBLE. 31 

Lev. 26:44. Notwithstanding all their perse- 
cutions and sufferings they were not to be utter- 
ly destroyed. This accounts for their contin- 
uance through all the ages. In fact, it is utterly 
impossible for the combined poivers of the icorld to 
destroy them. They are the "bush on tire," but 
never consumed. They live, and will continue 
to live, witnessing to all the nations of the earth 
the unity of the divine nature, the moral gran- 
deur of their religion, and the superintendence 
of God over the affairs of earth. God has sifted 
them, but you had better let the Jew alone. 

A few reflections respecting this people may 
not be out of place. 

There is nothing in the history of the world 
so striking, so impressive, so astonishing as the 
preservation of this strange race. It is without 
any parallel in the annals of earth. It can not 
be accounted for upon any known principles 
governing human actions. We must accept the 
direct interposition of God in their perpetuation 
as the only solution of the problem. And in do- 
ing this we must accept the divine origin of the 
book that records these facts. Always, com- 
paratively speaking, a small and weak nation, 
occupying a very limited territory, with man- 
ners, customs and institutions peculiar to them- 
selves, and a religion different from all others. 
Yet they have outlived all the mighty mon- 
archies and empires of antiquity, and seem to be 



32 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

well nigh endowed with indestructibility. They 
have been emphatically a wandering people. 
They have wandered all over the world. Their 
progenitors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, were 
wanderers. They wandered down into Egypt. 
There they became slaves — emancipated, they 
took up their line of march and followed the 
cloudy pillar by day and the pillar of fire by 
night through the deserts of Arabia to the prom- 
ised land. They have seen the great monarchy 
of Egypt and the empires of Assyria, Babylon 
and Persia rise, flourish and pass away. They 
were an old nation when Alexander carried his 
conquering banners to India; when Romulus 
founded Rome; lived through all the career of 
this wonderful government, and saw it go down 
in darkness and blood. They lived through all 
the stirring and startling events of the middle 
ages; saw the Crusaders pour their millions of 
mailed warriors upon the plains of Asia to wrest 
from the Moslem the sepulcher of the Savior. 
O Jew, thou hast been everywhere. Every- 
where peeled, and scathed, and scattered. 
Everywhere scorned, persecuted and oppressed! 
When the Man of Sorrow stood before the Ro- 
man governor and the latter inquired, "Whom 
will ye that I release unto you, Barabbas or 
Jesus, which is called Christ?" thou didst say, 
"Barabbas." Pilate saith unto them, "What, 
then, shall I do with him whom ye call the 



AUTHORITY OP THE BIBLE. 33 

King of the Jews?" Thou didst cry, "Crucify 
him! Crucify him!" And when the governor 
took water and washed his hands, saying, "I 
am innocent of the blood of this just person, see 
ye to it;" thou didst say, "Let his blood be upon 
us and our children." O what a malediction! 
What an accomplishment! Thou didst mock the 
dying agonies of the Son of God! Thou hast 
since walked the earth in sadness and sorrow. 
Thou hast seen thy glorious temple with its lofty 
battlements, gleaming and glittering with gold 
and jewels, laid Iqw in the dust. And Jeru- 
salem! What memories are awakened by this 
hallowed name ! Jerusalem, the city of prophets ! 
apostles, martyrs — razed to the ground, swept 
by the besom of destruction. O Jew, awful has 
been thy sins! Terrible lias been thy punishment! 
Thy blood has been shed upon a thousand hills! 
watered a thousand plains! dyed a thousand 
rivers ! Thy children sold into slavery or given 
to strangers, thy property confiscated! wife 
torn from thy embrace ! thyself shut up in gloomy 
dungeons or dying in torture ! Like Noah's dove, 
thou findest no rest for the sole of thy foot, and 
wilt not until thou repent and accept the "Cru- 
cified." Then peace and prosperity will return 
unto thee, and thou shalt love and serve God on 
earth, and, dying, thou shalt have a home in 
heaven with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 

I think no candid mind can examine the facts 

3 



34 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

and arguments presented and deny that the re- 
ligion of the Jews is divine, and that they have 
been under the special care and protection of 
the Almighty. 

I have not presented a tithe of the evidence at 
her hands. I have been compelled to be as brief 
as possible. But if one will not be convinced 
by what has been advanced, neither would he be 
satisfied though ' 'one should rise from the dead. " 
If he rejects all this testimony, he has great 
reason to fear that he is given over to hardness 
of heart and reprobacy of mind, and left to be- 
lieve a lie that he may be damned. It is da fear- 
ful thing to close the eyes, stop the ears and 
harden the heart against the truth. My dear 
sir, it is a fearfully dangerous position to occupy. 
If you don't retreat from it and repent, God will 
call away his Spirit, leave you to die in your 
folly and be damned in hell forever. 

There is one more thought I will suggest be- 
fore closing this chapter. And that is, that the 
Jews, though without a land and without a gov- 
ernment, few, feeble and scattered, yet are they 
the most powerful people in the world, in that 
they hold the purse strings of all the civilized 
nations of earth. They can say to them, 4 'Thus 
far and no farther," and the mightiest govern- 
ments must respect their decree. The weakest, 
and yet the strongest. Strange anomaly! 



AUTHORITY OP THE BIBLE. 35 



CHAPTER IV. 



DIVINITY OF CHRIST. 

NOW, some nineteen hundred years ago 
there appeared in the land of Judea a 
most extraordinary person claiming to be the 
Son of God. He said that he was sent into the 
world to redeem it from the curse of sin and to 
restore it to the divine favor. And it is very 
remarkable that in the ancient records of the 
people of that country there are the clearest in- 
timations that in the future ages such a charac- 
ter should make his appearance, and so strong 
a hold had this idea gained in the minds of the 
people that there was a general expectation that 
the time had arrived for the realization of this 
hope. His parentage was very humble — being 
born of a mother who, though of an illustrious 
family, had fallen into poverty and obscurity. 
Growing up into manhood, he became the most 
wonderful teacher in the world. Every thing 
recorded of him is in harmony with his claim of 
being divine. There was no sin in his life; no 
impurity in his soul; no selfish ambition; no 
aspirations after the wealth, honors and applause 
of the world. He rebuked sin everywhere. He 



36 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

was humble, tender and compassionate; and, at 
the same time, lofty and dignified. In a word, 
his life furnished a perfect pattern of holiness 
and purity. His wisdom surpassed that of all 
other men. He was never deceived by flattery, 
cajoled by caresses, or awed by power. Of all 
the teeming millions of earth, he stood out all 
alone in the dignity of his person, the purity of 
his life, the benevolence of his character, the 
marvels of his wisdom, and the grandeur of his 
works. Such is a faint outline of the character 
of Jesus Christ, who claimed to be the Son of 
God. 

Now, if this claim can be substantiated, if he 
was really divine, God over all blessed for ever- 
more, then it follows with irresistible certainty 
that the book that contains his life and char- 
acter is likewise divine, for it has his unquali- 
fied endorsement. 

Let us briefly survey the evidences. 

We go back to the oldest records of time— the 
Jewish sacred books. We there learn that upon 
the fall of man a promise was made that "the 
seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's 
head." Here is the first intimation of this com- 
ing personage. 

Turning over a little further, we see the patri- 
arch, Jacob, in blessing his children, declares 
that "the scepter shall not depart from Judah, 
nor a lawgiver from between his feet, till Shi- 



AUTHORITY OP THE BIBLE. 37 

loll shall come, and to him shall the gathering 
of the people be." Here is a further develop- 
ment of the same idea. Reading on, we come to 
another wonderful prediction by Moses, the great 
Jewish leader. In giving instruction to his peo- 
ple, he says, "The Lord your God shall raise up 
unto you a prophet like unto me, him shall ye 
hear in all things, and it shall come to pass that 
whosoever will not hear that prophet shall be 
cut off from among the people." These and 
many similar predictions are sufficient to show 
the grounds of the Jewish faith in the coming 
Messiah. The place of his birth was foretold — 
it was to be in Bethlehem of Judea; likewise 
the time of his birth w T as predicted. In fact, 
all his leading characteristics were described. 
All these found an exact fulfillment in the life 
and work of Christ. 

There were many personal types of Christ, 
such as Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, David, Sol- 
omon, Joshua, all possessing some leading feat- 
ure pointing to Christ. When Christ came, all 
these particulars found their fulfillment and 
illustration in him. 

What an array of evidence, what overwhelm- 
ing testimony to the fact that Christ was the 
Holy One of God. 

Besides the many personal types alluded to 
above, there were many others that were ex- 
ceedingly striking and impressive. Of which 



38 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

none was more so than the Passover lamb. In 
this we have an emblem of Christ crucified. The 
lamb was slain and dressed. It was then pierced 
lengthwise with a stake, then transfixed through 
the shoulders with another stake, thus forming 
a perfect cross. It was then roasted before the 
fire, expressive of the sufferings of Christ. Not 
a bone of it was to be broken, corresponding to 
the fact that not a bone of Christ was broken. 
It was then eaten, giving strength and vigor to 
the participants, just as partaking of Christ by 
faith gives spiritual life and vigor to those 
exercising that faith. 

The brazen serpent was a type of Christ in his 
saving power. When the Israelites were bitten 
by the fiery serpents, all they had to do to be 
healed was to look at the brazen serpent; thus 
showing that the sinner had only to look to 
Christ for salvation. 

The manna showered upon the Israelites in 
the wilderness was typical of the saving grace 
of our Lor<J Jesus Christ who is said to be the 
bread of life. 

The smitten rock typified Christ, "who was 
wounded for our transgressions and bruised for 
our iniquities." As the rock when smitten poured 
out its refreshing waters to revive the thirsty 
Israelites, so Christ when smitten poured out his 
life-giving blood for the salvation of sinners. 
But why enumerate particulars, there are hun- 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 39 

dreds of them. To mention them all would be 
to write volumes. In fact, the whole Jewish 
economy was in a large measure symbolical and 
illustrative of the work of Christ — his birth, his 
life, his character, his death, burial, resurrec- 
tion, ascension, and glorification. The Old 
Testament is just as full of Christ as the New. 
The only difference is that in the Old it is veiled 
in symbol. Now how is it possible that these 
well nigh innumerable particulars should all 
find their exact correspondence and fulfillment 
in Christ, unless he is divine, unless he is the Son 
of God ? 



I adduce another fact proving his divinity. 
This fact is different from all other facts in the 
history of the world. It is the only fact of the 
kind that ever occurred or ever will occur on 
earth. And that fact is Christ voluntarily died 
for his enemies. Said he in his teachings, "No 
greater love hath any man than this, that a 
man lay down his life for his friends. This is 
the utmost reach of human love. But very few 
instances of this kind have ever occurred. But 
Christ laid down his life for his enemies. This 
is the only case on record. 

Of all the millions of earth no human being 
has ever been known to voluntarily lay down 
his life for his enemies. If no mere man has 
ever been found to do this thing, then Christ 



40 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

was no mere man, but was God over all. This 
argument is absolutely invincible. It admits of 
no answer or evasion. 

THE PARABLES OF CHRIST PROVE HIS DIVINITY. 

We find in these pleasing and instructive nar- 
ratives the very concentration of wisdom and 
doctrine. They have no parallel in the litera- 
ture of the world. There is nothing that even 
approximates them. I challenge all the schools 
of Europe, America and the world to write just 
one such parable as the prodigal son. I will 
stake the whole question upon their inability to 
do it. What, with two thousand years of learn- 
ing and study, with all the examples before 
them, can't write one such parable! No; can't 
write one such parable. What does this show ? 
Why it shows that it is not within the compass 
of the human intellect unaided by divine revela- 
tion to do this thing. You can not account for 
this supernal wisdom of Christ upon any other 
ground than that he was divine, the Messiah — 
the Son of God. 

THE SINLESSNESS OF CHRIST PROVES HIS 
DIVINITY. 

If there is any one fact that towers immeas- 
urably above all other facts respecting the 
human race it is the fact that man is a sinner. 
This all systems of religion and philosophy ad- 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 41 

mit. Every government on earth is based upon 
this assumption. The universal consciousness 
of the race convicts man as a wrong-doer. 

Now how did it happen that amidst sweeping, 
devouring, corroding corruption; corruption of 
high life and low life; corruption of men, women 
and children; corruption through all the ages; 
corruption everywhere; corruption deep, dark 
and damning; a seething caldron of moral pu- 
tridity. I ask how did it happen that we find 
only one wearing the human garb, clothed in 
mortal flesh, that escaped the contamination and 
pollution everywhere prevalent ? The infidel must 
answer this question. Let there be no shirking 
or evasion. We will accept none. He must 
answer this question or confess his utter ina- 
bility to do it. If he can't answer it, his whole 
system breaks down and becomes a hopeless 
wreck. He can never answer it; never, while the 
sun and moon endure; never, while the stars shine; 
never, while the ivind blows and the tides flow. 

But Christianity can answer, the Bible can 
answer it. It says Jesus Christ was the Son of 
God, the brightness of the Father's glory and 
the express image of his person. He took upon 
Iiimself our nature, was tempted like as we are, 
yet without sin. This is the answer, the only 
•one that can or ever will be given. 



42 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

THE MIRACLES OF CHRIST PROVE HIS DIVINITY, 

The most stupendous miracles are ascribed to< 
Christ. With a touch, or a word, he cured all 
manner of diseases, restored sight to the blind, 
hearing to the deaf, and life to the dead. He 
stilled the raging billows, hushed the howling 
tempest, and fed thousands with a few loaves- 
and fishes. Now, if he really wrought these 
deeds, no one will question that he was divine, 
was the Son of God. The miracles performed 
were so numerous, so public, so palpable, that 
there could be no deception about them. They 
were either solemn verities or unmitigated 
shams. That they could not have been the lat- 
ter is evident from their nature and all the at- 
tendant circumstances. They were performed 
in open day — in the presence of keen, shrewd 
and captious enemies, who were bitter and un- 
relenting foes of Christ. If they had been im- 
positions, surely those opponents would have 
found it out and exposed it. In fact, the very 
character of those miracles themselves render such 
a supposition out of the question. Surely the 
hungry multitudes knew whether or not they 
partook of the loaves and fishes and were satis- 
fied. Surely the blind knew when the light of 
day visited their darkened orbs. Surely the 
deaf knew when the sweet melody of sounds- 
and the voice of love and friendship saluted their 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 43 

ears. That they were actually wrought, we 
have the testimony of both friends and foes who 
were present and were eyewitnesses. The Phar- 
isees themselves admitted their reality. And 
in the whole history of those times there is no 
counter testimony. The evidence, then, is most 
conclusive that Christ wrought those miracles- 
attributed to him; and if he did he was divine, 
he was the Son of God. 

THE TESTIMONY OP ANGELS. 

Luke 2:9, 10, 11. And, lo, the angel of the 
Lord came upon them (the shepherds), and the 
glory of the Lord shone round about them; and 
they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto* 
them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good 
tidings of great joy, which shall be to all peo- 
ple. For unto you is born this day in the city 
of David a Sayvior, which is Christ the Lord. 

THE TESTIMONY OF THE FATHER. 

Mark 1:10. And straightway coming up 
out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, 
and there came a voice, saying, Thou art my 
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 

THE TESTIMONY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 

Luke 3:22. And the Holy Spirit descended in. 
a bodily shape like a dove upon him. 



44 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

TESTIMONY OF PILATE'S WIFE. 

When Jesus was apprehended and on trial, 
the wife of Pilate, with that strange intuition so 
characteristic of women, sent word to him " to 
have nothing to do with that just person." But 
just he could not have been unless he was what 
he claimed to be, the Son of God. 

Pilate himself, after an examination, testified, 
X 'I find no fault in him." 

THE TESTIMONY OF THE CENTURION. 

When the Roman officer who superintended 
the crucifixion of Christ saw the remarkable 
phenomena attending his death — the preturnat- 
nral darkness and earthquake — he exclaimed, 
''Truly this was the Son of God." Surely the 
opinion of this witness is entitled to a great deal 
of weight, as he must have known a great deal 
about Christ's character and claims. 

THE TESTIMONY OF JUDAS. 

Judas was one of the twelve apostles. He 
was intimately associated with Christ for years. 
He knew him as well as one can know another. 
Had there been anything in the life and char- 
acter of the latter inimical to his claims of be- 
ing the Son of God, he would assuredly have 
pleaded it in justification of his betrayal. Suffer 
a little digression here. It has been thought 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 45 

strange by some that Christ should have chosen 
so bad a man as Judas as one of his apostles. 
Let me suggest he was chosen because he was- 
a suitable person to act the traitor. He was will- 
ing to do it. He was the very man for the occasion. 
Here we see God's sovereignty in using a bad 
man to accomplish his own divine purposes. 
Judas was guilty because he acted voluntarily 
and without constraint. He did the deed of his- 
own free will and choice. After seeing the ruin 
he had wrought, he was seized with undying re- 
morse. With hell-dogs barking at his heels and 
the vulture of despair dipping his bloody beak 
into his heart; no longer able to endure life, he 
leaps into hell, crying, "I have sinned in that I 
have betrayed innocent 'blood.' " But innocent 
blood it could not have been unless Christ was 
what he declared himself to be, the Son of God. 

THE TESTIMONY OF DEMONS. 

Mark 3:11. And unclean spirits, when they 
saw him, fell down before him, and cried, say- 
ing, "Thou art the Son of God." 

THE TESTIMONY OF CHRIST HIMSELF. 

He himself bore witness constantly to the fact 
that he was the Son of God. 



46 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

THE TESTIMONY OP NATURE AT HIS CRUCIFIX- 
ION PROVES HIS DIVINITY. 

The death of Christ was the most remarkable 
event in the history of the world. It was the 
fulfillment of all the prophecies, the consumma- 
tion of all the types of the Mosaic dispensation. 
It was the end of the Old and the beginning of 
a New era. It was indispensable to the vindica- 
tion of God's law, the manifestation of his jus- 
tice, the display of his wisdom, the exhibition of 
his mercy, and the salvation of sinners. It con- 
tains more elements of pathos and of moral 
grandeur and power than any other event that 
ever took place. The natural tendency of harsh- 
ness and the infliction of suffering is to harden 
the heart and render obdurate the will. On the 
contrary, the natural tendency of gentle, suffer- 
ing love is to change the affections, subdue the 
will, and bring about reconciliation. Conse- 
quently we see that the Christian scheme is nat- 
urally adapted to bless and save the race. The 
exhibition of God's love in the gift and death 
of his Son presents all the motives that can be 
brought to bear to secure the affections and 
obedience of man to God and his government. 

There hangs upon the cross the bleeding vic- 
tim. See! how his head reels! How his tem- 
ples throb! How his veins swell! Hark! There 
•comes a cry from the sufferer: "Father, forgive 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 47 

them; for they know not what they do." But 
what means this gathering gloom? What mean 
these darkened heavens and trembling earth? 
What mean these rending rocks, and opening 
graves, and rising dead? Jesus suffers! One 
long hour is ended and another begins. How 
his blood pours in fiery currents through his 
tortured veins. But, hush! There is another 
cry from the dying victim: "My God, my God, 
why hast thou forsaken me?" It was a cry of 
anguish — a cry of loneliness and desolation. 
Another hour closes — the last begins. But mark 
the sufferer is sinking — lower, lower, lower. 
Death is drawing its prophetic film over his lan- 
guid eyes — pulse intermitting — fluttering — mus- 
cles relaxing. But list! one more cry: "Father, 
into thy hands I commend my spirit;" and he is 
beyond the pain and anguish of the cross, and 
the envy and malice of the howling mob. What 
a scene! What an event! Was nature ever be- 
fore thrown into such tumult at the death of any 
other person? Never, never. Heroes have fallen 
in battle for their country; statesmen have 
perished at their posts in vindicating the rights 
of their nation; millions of martyrs have gone 
shouting home to glory from the dungeon, the 
scaffold, and the stake, but never in one instance 
has the placidity of nature been disturbed. But 
when Christ died all nature was convulsed. The 
sun refused to shine when the greater light of 



48 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

earth was darkening in death; the earth shook; 
rocks rent; the graves were opened and the dead 
arose. What a testimony is here presented in 
favor of the divinity of Christ? 

CHRIST'S PROPHECIES STAMP HIM AS DIVINE. 

The limits allowed us compel us to be very 
brief on this line of our inquiry. 

I call your attention to that remarkable proph- 
ecy of the Savior respecting the destruction of 
Jerusalem and the overthrow of the Jewish 
state, together with the accompanying signs 
and prodigies which attended them. These pre- 
dictions are very explicit, and are found record- 
ed in the 24th chapter of Matt., 13th chapter of 
Mark, and the 17th and 21st chapter of Luke. 

Luke gives it thus: "And they shall fall by the 
edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive 
into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden 
down of the Gentiles, until the times of the 
Gentiles be fulfilled. And there shall be signs 
in the sun, and in the moon and in the stars; and 
upon the earth distress of nations with per- 
plexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's 
hearts failing them for fear, and for looking 
after those things which are coming on the 
earth." 

The signs and precursors of these events were 
to be false Christs; seditions and wars; famines 
and pestilences, earthquakes and extraordinary 



AUTHORITY OP THE BIBLE. 49 

appearances in the heavens, etc., — the utter de- 
struction of the temple, so that not one stone 
should be left on another. 

So much now for the prophecy. Now for the 
fulfillment. Josephus, the Jewish historian, 
who was a witness of what he records, and was 
present and participated in the startling events 
of the siege and fall of Jerusalem, tells us that 
imposters and magicians drew multitudes into 
the wilderness, promising to show them signs 
and wonders. 

Theudas was another who pretended to be a 
prophet, and gave out that he would divide the 
waters of the Jordan. In fact, the whole land 
was overrun by imposters and false Christs. 
Wars and seditions convulsed the land. Both 
Josephus and Philo give an account of these dis- 
turbances in which multitudes of people per- 
ished. Gaunt famine stalked at midnight; pes- 
tilence wasted at noonday; and earthquakes 
shook the land. These facts are mentioned by 
Suetonius, by Josephus, by Tacitus and Seneca. 
Josephus and Tacitus both tell us that prodigies 
were frequent. The former declares that a star 
hung over the city like a sword for a whole year; 
that at the ninth hour of the night a bright light 
shone around the altar and the temple, so that 
for the space of half an hour it appeared to be 
bright day; that the eastern gate of the temple, 
which required twenty men to shut, and which 



50 THE DIVJNE ORIGIN AND 

was fastened by strong bars and bolts, opened 
of its own accord; that before sunset there was 
seen in the clouds the appearance of chariots and 
armies fighting; that at the feast of Pentecost, 
while the priests were going into the inner tem- 
ple, a voice was heard as of a multitude saying, 
"Let us depart hence." 

And what affected the people more than any- 
thing else was, that four years after the war be- 
gan, a countryman came to Jerusalem, at the 
feast of Tabernacles, and run up and down cry- 
ing day and night, k 'A voice from the east, a 
voice from the west, a voice from the four winds, 
a voice against Jerusalem and the temple. Wo! 
wo to Jerusalem !" It was in vain that by stripes 
and torture the magistrates attempted to restrain 
him. He continued crying for seven years and 
five months, and yet never grew hoarse nor ap- 
peared to be weary, until during the siege, while 
he was crying on the wall a stone struck him 
and he was instantly killed. Tacitus, the Roman 
historian, joins his testimony to that of Joseph- 
us. Jerusalem finally fell, being hemmed in on 
all sides by the besieging army, while famine, 
pestilence and tumult raged within. Finally the 
temple was burned, and the very ground on 
which it stood was plowed up; and the remnant 
of the people carried away captives into all na- 
tions, where they continue as strangers and pil- 
grims to this day. Who can read this wonderful 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 51 

prophecy of the Savior and its exact fulfillment 
and doubt his divinity? 

THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST PROVES HIS 
DIVINITY. 

There is no question as to the death and burial 
of Christ. But did he rise from the dead? This 
is the keystone to the arch. If the proof fails 
here the whole fabric tumbles into ruins. If he 
did rise, then he was the Son of God, and his 
claims of being divine is placed upon an immov- 
able foundation; and Christianity is from heaven 
and the Bible is divinely inspired. The most 
confirmed skeptic will admit that if he rose from 
the dead his claims have the highest attestation 
possible. What evidence, then, have we of this 
fact? I answer, the testimony of those who 
were intimately acquainted with him — who had 
spent years in his companionship, journeyed 
with him, ate with him and received instruction 
from his lips. These men aver that after his 
death and burial they saw him, handled him, con- 
versed with him, received instruction from him 
for forty days and then saw him ascend to 
heaven in their presence. Were these compe- 
tent witnesses? None could possibly be more 
so. These were plain, unsophisticated, matter- 
of-fact men, whose hardy outdoor life had fully 
developed their senses of hearing and seeing. 
They testified only to what they saw, and heard, 



52 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

and felt, and absolutely knew. There is no room 
to suppose that they were deceived. They could 
not have been deceived. If they were, then the 
senses furnish no criterion for the truth of any- 
thing. If they were deceived, then you have to 
account for the fact that practical, sensible men 
for the space of forty days thought they saw 
what they never saw, thought they heard what 
they never heard, and witnessed what never oc- 
curred. You must believe this or accept their 
testimony to the fact of Christ's resurrection. 
In this discussion there is only one thing for the 
opposition to do, either to accept the resurrec- 
tion of Christ as a fact, or to ignore all reason 
and all laws governing the human mind and hu- 
man conduct. 

Were these witnesses sincere? There is no 
ground to mistrust their sincerity. They fur- 
nish the very highest proof possible to be given 
of their sincerity. In the face of danger, ob- 
loquy, persecution, hatred and universal oppo- 
sition, they took their lives in their hands and 
went forth proclaiming everywhere the resur- 
rection of Christ, and at last laid down their lives 
in attestation of this fact. If anything can be 
proved by human testimony, then is it proved 
that Jesus rose from the dead. And if he rose 
from the dead, he has the attestation of heaven 
itself that he was the Son of God. 

Another proof that Christ rose from the dead 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 53 

is the change of the seventh day, the Jewish 
Sabbath, to the first day of the week as a day of 
rest. This was done to commemorate the fact 
that Jesus rose from the dead on this day. To 
perpetuate this fact, the disciples from the very 
beginning observed the first day of the week. 
Hence this observance has come down to us 
through all intervening ages and stands as a per- 
petual proof to all people of the resurrection of 
Jesus. 

In the act of baptism we have symbolized the 
great facts of the death, burial and resurrection 
of Christ. 

We have, then, not only the testimony of per- 
sonal eyewitnesses to this fact, but in addition 
thereto two monumental institutions, Sunday 
and Baptism, testifying to the same fact. 
Against this tremendous array of proof there is 
absolutely no counter testimony. The evidence 
adduced establishes beyond controversy the fact 
that Jesus rose from the dead, and hence he is 
the Son of God, and by consequence the Bible is 
divine, because it is full of Christ from Genesis 
to Revelation. 



54 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 



CHAPTER V. 



THE DOCTRINES OF THE BIBLE ARE INCORPO- 
RATED INTO AND PERMEATE THE WHOLE 
FABRIC OF HUMAN AFFAIRS. 

I WISH now, by another and independent line 
of argument, to show that the doctrines of 
the Bible are incorporated into and permeate the 
whole fabric of human affairs, and that they are 
received and acted upon in all temporal matters 
by the whole human race. In a word, that every 
man, woman and child through all the ages is 
fully committed to these doctrines and can not 
object to one of them without at the same time 
condemning himself. This is a very strange 
and wonderful arrangement, and seems hitherto 
to have escaped observation. To give you, in a 
sentence, the trend of the argument I am going 
to make, I will state that as the great laws of 
Nature, such as electricity, magnetism, heat, 
gravity, etc., pervade all material bodies; so the 
principles of the Bible run through all human 
affairs, and are interwoven into the very fabric 
and constitution of things. God has not left 
himself without witness as to the truth of his 
Word, but has so arranged things as to make his 
foes as well as his friends to testify to its truth. 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 55 

REPENTANCE. 

Let us begin with the doctrine of repentance 
and see how far all men are committed to it. 
The Scriptures teach that in order to pardon, 
the sinner must repent — that is, change his mind 
and change his conduct — must turn about from 
a course of sin to a course of uprightness. Now, 
do not all men require this of those who have 
offended them? This is always and everywhere 
a condition of reconciliation between parties at 
variance. So long as the offending party con- 
tinues his offenses, reconciliation is out of the 
question. But the moment he changes his 
course, peace between the two becomes practica- 
ble. Other elements of repentance are that the 
offender confess his fault, express sorrow for it, 
and ask forgiveness. No man requires more 
than this in order to the restoration of friend- 
ship. The duelist upon the deadly field only 
asks for an apology — a confession from his an- 
tagonist. This done, peace is restored. Now, 
with what consistency can any man object to the 
Scriptural doctrine of repentance, seeing God in 
this requires of every wrongdoer just what every 
man requires of those that have trespassed 
against him. The principles embraced in the 
doctrine of repentance are every man's princi- 
ples, and are universally recognized. These prin- 
ciples are founded in the nature of things and ac- 



56 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

cord ivith man's mental and moral constitution, and 
it is impossible for alienated friendship to be re- 
stored in any other ivay. 

FAITH. 

The Bible dwells with much emphasis upon 
faith. It ascribes a great deal of power and 
efficacy to it. It represents it as indispensable 
to our acceptance with God. It is the channel 
through which comes spiritual light and life. 
It is not an arbitrary principle introduced into 
the divine scheme without reason, but is based 
upon the profoundest philosophy. As a reg- 
ulator of human conduct it is the most powerful 
force that can be brought to bear. Men act, 
w T hen they act consistently, in accordance with 
what they believe. Hence it controls, in a large 
measure, the actions of men. It likewise gov- 
erns the conscience, the conscience sometimes 
approving in one what it condemns in another, 
because of difference in their beliefs. It like- 
wise governs the affections. If you believe an 
object to be good, your affections are naturally 
drawn out towards it. If you believe it to be 
bad, your aversion towards it is excited. An- 
other fact, we become more assimilated in char- 
acter to those objects in which we have the most 
faith. Hence it would be impossible to be saved 
unless we have a holy object (God) set before us 
as the object of faith to control our actions, call 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 57 

forth our affections, and purify our conscience. 
Such is the transcendent importance of faith as 
set forth in the Bible. The belief of truth is al- 
ways promotive of man's highest interest and 
happiness, whereas the belief of falsehood is 
always misleading and ruinous. Now, if we will 
turn our eyes to human affairs, we will find its 
power and influence just as great. Without it 
no government can exist, no society, no associa- 
tion of any kind, no banks, no business, no 
money, no family, no social relations. Strike 
down the cohesive power of faith and you toll 
the death knell of the race in regard to all tem- 
poral affairs. Universal disaster and ruin would 
ensue just as the Bible says follows the absence 
of faith in reference to spiritual affairs. Thus 
we see the Bible in no respect exaggerates its 
importance — just as necessary in the affairs of 
this life as in that which is to come. It is a 
principle universally accepted and acted upon 
by the whole human race. It is one of the moral 
forces of the universe, and holds that relation to 
spiritual things that gravity does to material 
things. It is incorporated into the very consti- 
tution of nature, and the infidel is as much com- 
mitted to it as the Christian. 

PRAYER. 

The Bible teaches the doctrine and duty of 
prayer. All the great characters of the Bible 



58 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

were noted for their prayerf ulness. Christ both 
taught and exemplified it — sometimes spending 
the whole night in supplicating the divine 
throne. Now there is a deep philosophy in 
prayer. It is the highest form of worship. It 
is an acknowledgment of God's existence and 
sovereignty, and our weakness and dependence. 
It involves a confession of our sinfulness, our 
sorrow for it, and our desire for deliverance 
from it. Where these feelings are sincere and 
earnest, they necessarily lift the suppliant up 
into communion w T ith God and conformity to his 
will. No one can possibly grow in the divine 
life without prayer. It is one of the appointed 
means for spiritual growth. It is adapted to 
this end, because it brings us in contact with 
the divine Being and holds us there till we catch 
something of his heavenly effulgence and glory. 
We must be in touch with objects before they 
can affect us or we influence them. Hence peo- 
ple living in close and intimate relations for 
years come to resemble each other and to par- 
take very much of each others characteristics. 

Prayer then is not only Scriptural, but is 
founded in the nature of things. 

Now let us see how far this doctrine is inter- 
woven in the affairs of life. Every one that 
ever petitioned a court or a legislative body for 
the granting of a favor, the removal of a griev- 
ance, or the pardon of a criminal, did in that 



AUTHORITY OP THE BIBLE. 5& 

act, commit himself to the Bible doctrine of 
prayer. Hence it is that no one can call in ques- 
tion the teaching of the Scriptures on this point, 
without at the same time condemning himself. 

ETERNAL PUNISHMENT. 

There is no doctrine of the Scriptures that has 
met with fiercer denunciation and more bitter 
opposition than that stated above. But denun- 
ciation and opposition prove nothing. Is the 
Scriptural teaching on this question true ? If it 
is I want to know it so that I may shun so sad a 
catastrophe. The Christian church through all 
the ages has understood that the fate of the 
finally impenitent was one of unmitigated hor- 
ror, one of eternal doom, one of utter and hope- 
less ruin. She has never shirked from this doc- 
trine nor failed on all suitable occasions to 
affirm it. 

Now if this be the correct interpretation of 
the Scriptures we may expect to find the same 
principle imbedded in the affairs around us. 
For God has arranged the things of earth so as 
to cause all men to accept and act out the very 
principles he has embodied in his word. The 
Bible recognizes a radical and essential differ- 
ence between truth and error, an antagonism 
that is irreconcilable. This fact is confirmed 
by the experience of the whole race. This be- 
ing admitted, it follows that truth and error 



60 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

being so opposite in their nature, can not lead 
to the same result. The outcome must be dif- 
ferent. If virtue leads to heaven and happi- 
ness, vice must lead to hell and misery. If the 
happiness of one is eternal, the misery of the 
other must be likewise. This all accords with 
the analogies of nature. In human affairs there 
are often points reached from which there is no 
return; results achieved for which there is no 
remedy. A ball crashing through the brain 
ends life; a man standing on a precipice and 
taking one more step is hurled into the abyss 
and lost. In these and a thousand similar in- 
stances the ruin is irretrievable; it is utter and 
hopeless. So in the downward course of the 
sinner, he finally reaches a point where the 
mercy of God can not reach him and he is eter- 
nally lost. He has passed out of the present 
condition of things into a new order where no 
provision is made for restoration and where no 
mercy can be exercised. You ask, why so dire- 
ful a result? I answ T er why so direful a result 
oftentimes from the incidents of this life ? I 
answer again, it is inevitable. It could not be 
otherwise. It finds its basis in the character of 
God who is infinitely opposed to sin, and who 
did all that could be done in a moral government 
to prevent its entrance, and after its entrance 
has done all that could be done to mitigate its 
effects and to extirpate it from the world. He 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 61 

inquires, ''What could I have done more to my 
vineyard that I have not done ? " He has rea- 
soned, warned, expostulated, entreated. Sent 
his Son to die upon the cross; given his Word 
to enlighten, his Spirit to convince, and sent his 
ministers to proclaim the terms of peace and 
pardon, and to offer a blissful immortality be- 
yond the grave upon the simple terms of accept- 
ing the remedy he himself has provided and 
offered. To all his proffered mercies men turn 
away their ears and scoff and scorn. God's 
offers are derided, despised and rejected, his 
mercy scouted, his majesty insulted, his laws 
trampled under foot, and his government dis- 
honored. What else could he do after exhaust- 
ing all the resources of parental love, but let 
the thunderbolt fall ? 

This state of things finds its parallel in the 
history of thousands of families in this world, 
the gray-haired father sees his beloved children 
enter upon a course of vice and folly which he 
knows will result in their ruin. He admonishes, 
warns, prays and entreats; but all in vain. 
They give no heed, lift no cry to God for help, 
but plunge along in their wild and wicked career 
until death closes the scene and hell swallows 
them up. Whose fault? Evidently their own. 
So with the finally impenitent sinner. You thus 
see the very same principles hold their sway in 
this world as are set forth in the Bible. Who- 



62 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

ever established the one established the other. 

Let us elaborate this matter a little further 
and show that every human being since the fall 
of Adam is fully committed by his own personal 
acts to this principle of "everlasting banishment 
from the presence of the Lord and the glory of 
his power." Every government has found it 
necessary to cut off incorrigible offenders from 
citizenship, either by taking their lives or shut- 
ting them up in prison as long as they live — 
that is forever, so far as this world is concerned. 
Now, no one objects to this principle in human 
governments. Why should they object to it in 
the divine government? If it is right and neces- 
sary in the one, it is equally so in the other. If 
you admit it in one, you must allow it in the 
other. There is no escape from this conclusion. 
It is the experience of the world that this is 
necessary in civil government, and it has re- 
ceived the sanction and endorsement of all ages. 
If so, it is equally necessary in God's govern- 
ment. The world is not only committed in the 
mass to this doctrine, but each individual is per- 
sonally committed to it. Did you ever crush a 
fly, a flea, or other insect? If you did, you cut 
it off for ever from all life, liberty and enjoyment. 
Here you claim and exercise the very same right 
you deny to the Almighty Ruler of the universe. I 
ask the infidel what he will do with the cold-heart- 
ed, red-handed murderer. I will rest the whole 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 63 

issue upon his answer. He can not possibly an- 
swer it without ruining his system. If he says 
he would execute him, well, that is cutting him 
off for ever from all life and liberty. If he says 
he would shut him up in prison for life, that is 
just what the Bible says. If he answers he 
would do nothing, then that is the end of law 
and government and the introduction of uni- 
versal anarchy. Thus you see that all govern- 
ments, human and divine, have found this prin- 
ciple a necessary element in their structure. 
Let there, then, be no objection to the doctrine 
of eternal punishment as set forth in the Bible. 
The moment one objects to it, he condemns him- 
self. 

It is sometimes urged that there is no propor- 
tion between the time of committing the deed 
and the penalty. I answer, neither is there in 
human governments. Time is not an element in 
assessing the punishment. A man may in one 
moment commit an act that will forfeit his life, 
or send him to the penitentiary as long as he 
lives. 

THE ATONEMENT. 

There is something very wonderful about 
blood. I don't know what it is; but there is 
something very w T onderful about blood. See 
how the noble horse starts and trembles when 
he catches the scent of it. See how the beasts of 



64 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

the menagerie are aroused and pace their cages 
when its odor is wafted to their nostrils! See 
how the cattle paw the ground and utter mourn- 
ful lamentations and loud bellowings when they 
smell it. There is something very tvonderful about 
blood. I do not know what it is. Look at the 
man that has shed it wrongfully. The stain is 
upon his hand, the blight is upon his heart! To 
get rid of it, he climbs the mountain heights, 
plunges into the valleys low, crosses the wide, 
wide ocean; but the stain is upon his hand, the 
blight is upon his heart. The specter of his 
murdered victim walks by his side, comes in the 
midnight hour and peers reproachfully into his 
eyes, lays his cold and skeleton fingers upon his 
brow until the soul of the man is wracked with 
horror and he quivers like an aspen. Yes; there 
is something very wonderful about blood. Now, 
the Scriptures tell us, "without the shedding of 
blood there is no remission." They cleave to 
the soul through everlasting ages, no forgive- 
ness, no peace with God, no hope of heaven. 
We are further told that "the blood of Jesus 
cleanses from all sin." Through the applica- 
tion of it by the Spirit the conscience is purified 
and spiritual and divine life is given. 

Now let us see if we can not find in the things 
around us an exact counterpart of this — a coun- 
terpart so exact, a practice so general as to 
commit the whole race to this principle. 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 65 

The noble ox and the innocent lamb must give 
up their lives, must die, must shed their blood 
that we may live temporarily and physically. 
So Christ gave up his life, shed his blood, that 
we may live spiritually and eternally. The one 
dies for our physical well-being, the other dies 
for our spiritual well-being. Christ died a vio- 
lent death, poured out his blood. So animals 
must die a violent death — shed their blood — 
otherwise their flesh is not suitable for human 
food. The antithesis is direct — the parallelism 
is perfect. You accept the one and act upon it, 
therefore you are compelled to accept the other. 
Every thing that sustains our bodies implies the 
death of that thing. With what propriety, then, 
can any one slaughter an animal and live upon 
its flesh and at the same time deny that there is 
any efficacy in the death of Christ? 

Thus we see that the doctrines of the Bible 
are interwoven into the whole structure of things 
around us, and that men everywhere uncon- 
sciously receive and act upon them while they 
reject the very same principles in the Bible. 
For this gross inconsistency they alone are re- 
sponsible. Well do the Scriptures say, ' 'Every 
mouth shall be shut, and the whole world be- 
come guilty before God." 

SUBSTITUTION. 

Christ took our place under the law, died in 
our room and stead; died "the just for the un- 

5 



66 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

just;" was wounded for our transgressions; was 
bruised for our iniquities. He was our substitute. 
This is the teaching of the Scriptures. This 
doctrine has been strenuously opposed and bit- 
terly denounced both by heretics and infidels; 
but it is clearly taught in the divine word and is 
accepted and practiced by all governments and 
all individuals. It is a primary principle in- 
wrought into the very structure of the universe. 
It was from a want of understanding this that 
the devil committed the sad mistake of intro- 
ducing death, in to the world. 

In placing Adam and Eve in the garden, God 
gave them full permission to eat of the fruit of 
all the trees with one exception, declaring that 
if they partook of that tree, they should die. 
The devil seemed to reason thus with himself: 
"If I can tempt them to eat the forbidden fruit 
and thus transgress God's law, God must be true 
to his promise and cut them off and thus his 
whole plan of creation will be frustrated. Or if 
he does not cut them off, he stands before the 
universe dishonored in annexing a penalty to 
his law he had not the firmness to execute." 
From his standpoint his reasoning was clear and 
logical. He saw no escape from the dilemma. 
But he was caught in his own snare. He was 
entrapped and ruined by his own scheme. He 
had left out a very important element in the 
count, that of substitution. God had embodied 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 67 

this principle in nature. Thus the loss of the eye- 
sight is supplemented in a large measure by in- 
creased sensibility in the sense of feeling. Sup- 
pression of perspiration is taken up and borne 
by the lungs or some other organ. In the ab- 
sence of sunlight, we substitute light from 
lamps, gas, or electricity. When we have not 
sufficient heat from the sun to warm us, we 
kindle fires in its place. And so on throughout 
the whole constitution of things. Substitution 
then is a primary element in the universe. 

People sometimes seem to think that the fall 
of man was wholly unlooked for and unprepared 
for; that it was an exigency in the divine gov- 
ernment that perplexed the Creator to meet. 
Whereas the whole thing was foreseen, provided 
for, and the world was created so as to harmon- 
ize with that condition of things. Hence you 
see how it was the devil was misled. Instead of 
thwarting God's purposes he confirmed them. 
Instead of advancing his own kingdom he ruined 
it; for the death of Christ overthrows the king- 
dom of darkness. 

Christ, our substitute, took our place and died 
for us, and thus honored the law. What is done 
by a substitute or representative being is of the 
same binding force as when done by the original. 
And this was no arbitrary arrangement, but was 
in accordance with the original constitution of 
things. There was nothing new introduced, nor 



68 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

was there any departure from law and order, 
but was in strict harmony with both. 

I will now briefly show that this principle is 
accepted and acted upon by the whole race; that 
it permeates the whole range of human inter- 
ests, and that no man can deny it any more than 
he can deny his own existence. It is every 
man's doctrine confirmed by innumerable acts of 
his own. All business transactions are but an 
exchange of one thing for another, or the substitu- 
ting of one thing and taking another equivalent to it. 
This is precisely what took place in the divine 
transaction. The sinner was released, let go, 
and Christ was taken in his stead. In times of 
war this principle finds an apt illustration: A 
man is conscripted, all he has to do to keep out 
of the army is to furnish a substitute — one to take 
his place — who, if he dies in the service or is 
killed in battle, the principal is regarded as 
dead, and the law has no further claims upon 
him. I might show in every man's life almost 
countless examples in confirmation of what has 
been stated. If one ever employed a physician, 
he had to Substitute his money for his services. 
If he ever engaged a lawyer to defend him, he 
had to give in exchange an equivalent. So of 
mechanics, artists, laborers. 

As originally constituted language was out of 
harmony with the balance of creation. Unity in 
language — variety everywhere else. There was 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. ' 69 

but one language. Hence with this arrange- 
ment there was no room for the principle of 
exchange or substitution of a word in one lan- 
guage for an equivalent word in another lan- 
guage. To obviate this difficulty, God, at Babel, 
made other languages, and thus made room for 
the introduction of substitution. He thus ac- 
complished, by one act, the voluntary dispersion 
of the people, and at the same time made room 
for substitution where it was before wanting. 

We thus see that God in his wisdom has left 
all men without any excuse whatever in reject- 
ing the teachings of the Scripture. For the 
very things they object to they have been prac- 
ticing all their lives. 

God needs no witnesses against any man, for 
he has so ordered things as to make every one 
testify against and condemn himself by Ms own acts. 

MEDIATION. 

But let us advance a little farther in our in- 
quiries and see whether there are not other 
great Scriptural doctrines which men reject, 
while at the same time they observe them in the 
everyday affairs of life. 

Christ is represented as our mediator — as com- 
ing in between an offended God and offending 
man to make peace — to satisfy the demands of 
law and thus bring about reconciliation. He 
came to turn aside from us the consequences of 



70 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

violated moral law and to restore us to spiritual 
health. We find an exact parallel to this in the 
physician who comes in to save us from the con- 
sequences of violated physiological law and re- 
store us to physical health; likewise the lawyer 
who mediates to save us from the effects of 
transgressed civil law and bring about harmoni- 
ous relations with the government. 

Persons at variance are oftentimes reconciled 
by the intervention of a mutual friend. This 
principle is extending its influence amongst the 
nations and is gaining a strong hold upon them. 
It is being discovered that national disputes 
should be settled by arbitration, or by reference 
of the matter to a mediatorial tribunal which will 
adjust the difference upon the basis of right and 
justice. Thus as we advance in civilization and 
spiritual development we begin to see and un- 
derstand that the principles of the Bible per- 
vade the whole order of things, and that all men 
are committed to them. No wonder Paul ex- 
claimed, "O the depth of the riches both of the 
wisdom and knowledge of God." 

ADOPTION. 

We will now consider for a moment the teach- 
ing of the Scriptures in regard to adoption. In 
our fallen state we are strangers to God and 
aliens from him. Being regenerated and par- 
doned we are adopted into the family of God 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 71 

and become heirs of God and joint heirs with 
the Lord Jesus Christ, and are entitled to all the 
privileges and immunities of children. Such is 
the doctrine of the Scriptures. Now this prin- 
ciple has been accepted and acted upon by all 
enlightened nations, both of ancient and modern 
times. The justice and propriety of this have 
received the sanction and approval of all ages. 
Now, is this a correct and righteous principle in 
human governments? If so, is it not likewise 
in the divine government? If you say yes, then 
you and the Bible agree. If you say no, then 
why do you accept it in civil government and 
ignore it in God's government? If it is right in 
one, it is likewise right in the other, and con- 
sistency requires you to acknowledge it in both. 

TRINITY. 

It is the distinct and emphatic teaching of the 
Bible that there is but one God. But in this di- 
vine unity there are three persons: the Father, 
the Son, and the Holy Spirit, co-equal and co- 
eternal. Perhaps no teaching of the Scriptures 
has been more opposed and denounced by in- 
fidels than this. How, say they, can one be 
three and three be one ? Well, I don't know how ; 
nevertheless, I will show you it is a fact. You 
will find it in your own person. You are but 
one person. Yet, in this one person you will find 
three distinct persons, closely allied, overlap- 



72 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

ping, coalescing, inter-penetrating each the 
other, but yet distinct physical, moral and intel- 
lectual. One can not be a man without a phys- 
ical organization, neither can he be a human be- 
ing without a moral and intellectual nature. Yet 
he is but one man. In your one arm you find 
three divisions — arm, forearm, hand. In fact, 
man is a trinity all over; head, trunk, limbs; 
thigh, leg, foot; fingers, first, second, third 
joints; skin, scarf, true, mucous. So of the 
trees of the forest — root, body, branches; bark, 
wood, sap; leaves, flowers, fruits. You thus 
see that God has not only written this great 
truth in the Bible, but he has written it in the 
human constitution and the animal and vegeta- 
ble kingdoms. Although a little out of place, I 
will call your attention to another remarkable 
fact. And that is, man with his arms extended 
is a perfect cross, and that the human face pre- 
sents a very fair outline of the same figure; the 
forehead standing for the upper part of the 
beam, the eyebrows representing the transverse 
bar, and the nose the lower part. Did all these 
wonderful coincidences happen by chance? Im- 
possible! God incorporated them into the very 
nature of things that they might be confirmatory 
and illustrative of his Word. Hence the conclu- 
sion is inevitable and irresistible that whoever 
made man and the material world made the 
Bible. 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 73 

PERSEVERANCE. 

Well, you say, how will you get an argument 
out of this to prove the divine origin and au- 
thority of the Bible? Wait and see, and I will 
.get not only an argument, but a demonstration of 
the divine authorship of the Bible. 

It has been charged that the Scriptures were 
inconsistent and contradictory in their teaching 
upon the subject of man's continuance in a state 
of grace — that in some places they taught one 
oould fall and be lost, and in other places they 
taught he could not. And churches themselves 
have had angry and unprofitable controversy on 
this theme. 

Every true interpretation of the Scriptures 
must harmonize with the attributes of God, the 
nature and condition of man and the constitution 
of the universe. If there is clashing along these 
lines, we have failed somewhere in our interpre- 
tations. If this rule had been kept in view there 
would have been no ground for wrangling, and 
the Scriptures would have been seen to be per- 
fectly consistent. In fact, they could not have 
spoken otherwise than they have and been the 
word of God. If you change their expression 
you destroy their truthfulness. They must 
stand just as they are, and thus furnish the clear- 
est evidence that they are from God. There are 
two great doctrines involved in the interpreta- 



74 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

tion of the Scriptures on this point: the sover- 
eignty of God and the accountability of man. Any- 
true exposition must recognize these principles 
and give to each its proper weight. God's gov- 
ernment over the race, you must bear in mind, 
is a moral government. This consists of motives- 
addressed to men's hopes and fears. Those pas- 
sages that are thought to teach apostacy are 
addressed to man's fears, and are intended to 
stimulate his efforts in the divine life. This 
necessarily produces growth in grace. This, now, 
is one side of moral government. 

Those passages that recognize the sovereignty 
of God and the certain accomplishment of his 
purpose in the salvation of his people, are ad- 
dressed to their hopes, and are intended to 
strengthen and encourage the Christian in his 
warfare and keep him from despair. This is the 
other side of moral government. Without fear, 
men would become reckless; without hope, de- 
spondent. The former keeps from presumption, 
the latter from gloom and despondency by assur- 
ing us that sovereign mercy and grace are lead- 
ing us through a course of discipline to man- 
sions in the skies. Thus we see God's plan is 
adapted exactly to the exigencies of the case. 
You must bear in mind that there can be no 
progress without labor and self-denial. God 
recognized this established order and so ar- 
ranged the Scriptures — so balanced and adjust- 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 75- 

ed them as to prompt to the loftiest efforts in 
the individual and at the same time him humbly 
by assuring him that God is sovereign and sal- 
vation is of grace. Man is so constituted that 
he could not have been saved by any other 
method. 

Now, the point of the argument is this: these 
forces are so poised, so nicely adjusted, so balanced 
in the Scriptures, so harmonize with the nature of 
things, that none but infinite ivisdom could have ar- 
ranged them thus. And if infinite wisdom ar- 
ranged them, then the Bible is divine. 

Much damage has been done to the Christian 
cause by hasty and inconsiderate controversy on 
this doctrine. Parties generally have utterly 
failed to define their terms and to limit their ap- 
plication. Hence in combating an opponent 
they are often found fighting a fantom. The 
advocates for faith emphasize it so strongly 
as to leave no room for good works. The advo- 
cates of good works press it so far as to exclude 
faith. Whereas the Scriptures assign a distinct 
place and office to each. Salvation is absolutely 
of grace, through faith as the channel of its 
communication; God's love being the moving 
cause, Christ's atoning work the meritorious 
cause, and the Spirit's work the efficient agent. 
Now, good works come in as the fruits of faith 
to develop, to strengthen and advance the Chris- 
tian life and to show to the world the power and 
reality of his religion. 



76 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 



CHAPTER VI. 



THE ADAPTATION OP THE RELIGION OF THE 
BIBLE TO THE WANTS OP MAN. 

IT IS quite evident that any religion com- 
ing from God would be adapted to meet 
and satisfy all the wants of human nature and 
advance man's highest interest and happiness. 
It must have respect to man in his threefold na- 
ture of a physical, intellectual and moral being. 
Let us see if the religion of the Bible does not 
meet all these demands. To promote his phys- 
ical well-being it enjoins temperance in all 
things, moderation in all pursuits, personal 
cleanliness, etc. These, physicians tell us, are 
the elements of health and longevity. 

For his intellectual development it presents 
the profoundest problems for solution: the char- 
acter and attributes of God; the nature, duty 
and destiny of man; how sins can be pardoned 
consistently with the divine rectitude and the 
honor of the divine government, and how mercy 
can be exercised without impairing the claims of 
justice. Now, it is undeniable that Christians 
are far in advance of all others in arts, in sci- 
ence, in discoveries, in progress, in statesman- 



AUTHORITY OP THE BIBLE. 7T 

ship, in everything that blesses and adorns hu- 
manity. How will you account for this? If it 
is not owing to their religion, to what is it 
owing? 

Now, for his moral and spiritual advancement 
it furnishes motives as high as heaven, as deep 
as hell, and as wide as the universe. It pre- 
sents likewise in the character of the Lord Jesus 
Christ a spotless example of purity and holiness- 
whom he is constantly exhorted to follow and 
imitate, with the promise of divine assistance in 
the hour of need and an inheritance of a blissful 
immortality beyond the grave. 

Furthermore, a religion from heaven must 
make provision for the pardon of sins; for there 
is no fact more certain in human experience than 
that man needs such a scheme. This is a felt 
want of the race. And it must not be a mere 
passing by of sins, an arbitrary canceling of 
them ; but it must be such a pardon as will alike 
satisfy his conscience and his judgment, and at 
the same time meet all the demands of a just 
law. This the religion of the Bible does. And 
this is just what no other religion, either in an- 
cient or modern times, ever even proposed do- 
ing. Not all the learning of the earth can de- 
vise a scheme that will meet these imperative 
requirements. They are met nowhere else, and 
can be met nowhere else, except in the religion 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. 



78 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

Again, a religion from heaven must provide 
for man's consolation in the hour of affliction. 
We live in a world of sorrow and disappoint- 
ment. We are surrounded by dangers and diffi- 
culties. Notwithstanding all these changing 
and shifting scenes, the Bible assures us "that 
all things work together for good to them that 
love God," and "that our light affliction, which 
is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more 
exceeding and eternal weight of glory." It also 
tells us that our Heavenly Father is at the helm 
of the universe working out his plans for 
his own glory and the salvation of his 
people, and that his providence extends to all 
liuman events. What a comfort! what a conso- 
lation! to feel that we are the objects of God's 
fatherly care, "that his mercy endureth for- 
ever, " and that his ears are open unto the prayers 
of his people. When the storms are beating 
upon us and the billows are rolling over us, I 
hear a voice say, ' 'Can a mother forget the child 
she bore ? yes, she may forget, yet, will not 
I forget thee," And the response comes up from 
the overburdened heart, "7 knoiv my Redeemer 
Ziveth." The clouds break away and the star of 
hope gleams in the sky, and the tempest- tossed 
one, cheered and assured of God's protecting 
care, bows in submission to his Father's will. 

There is nothing so consoling as the promises 
of the Bible to the sorrowing and bereaved ones 



AUTHORITY OP THE BIBLE. 79 

of earth. When the angel of death enters the 
household and bears our jewels away and the 
family circle is broken, they point us to the 
abode of the blessed where sorrow never comes, 
tears never fall, farewells are never spoken, and 
where the weary are forever at rest. We, too, 
must die. The night of death will soon close 
around us and "creature helps all flee," then the 
love of God and the radiance of the Spirit will 
disperse the gathering gloom and illuminate the 
darkness of the grave. 

These facts have been verified by millions of 
Christians. Gentle, timid mothers, fair maidens, 
gray-haired sires, and little children, inspired 
by the love of God and sustained by the power 
of the Holy Spirit, have crowded the road to 
death and the fires of martyrdom as if they were 
going to a banquet. Even now I hear Christian 
parents whisper, O Lord, we ask not for our 
children, wealth, honor, or earthly glory, but 
the religion of Jesus, that they may live useful 
lives, die triumphant deaths, and live with thee 
forever. 

A FUTURE LIFE. 

Man recoils with horror from the thought of 
annihilation; he dreads the thought of falling 
into nothingness, of ceasing to be. If there is 
any question that the race has sought to know 
above all others it is the question of what lies 



80 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

beyond the grave. Now a religion that is- 
adapted to meet the wants of man must meet 
and answer this question. It was asked of old, 
1 'If a man die, shall he live again ? " Is there any- 
fair and beautiful land where death never 
comes ? Where there are no swellings of the 
heart, no heavings of the bosom, no choking 
utterances, no falling tears ? In hours of pensive 
meditation, I look around and see on every hand 
evidences of death and decay. I stand by the 
graves of loved ones! Oh, how loved, none but 
God knows. I recall to memory their sparkling 
eyes, their warm and joyous words of welcome. 
They are gone now. They are sleeping in the 
cold and silent grave. The wild bird sings their 
mournful requiem; the dismal owl hoots their 
sad dirge; the wintry wind howls around their 
lowly bed; and the pattering rain falls upon 
their lonely couch. I shall see them no more in 
this mortal life. Shall I meet them on the radiant 
shore ? I want to know. Is there a bright world 
beyond where the loved and lost shall meet 
again ? I asked the golden haired sun of the 
skies, O thou glorious orb, dost thou know ? I 
asked the fair and silvery moon, sailing so 
serenely through the deep azure of the heavens, 
dost thou know ? I asked the glittering stars of 
night, can ye tell me ? No response comes from 
sun, or moon, or stars. In my sadness, I in- 
quired of the rolling waters of old ocean, O 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 81 

waters, in all your wanderings do you wash the 
shores of that happy land ? I asked the winds 
that fan every sea and island, is there such a 
clime ? Sun and moon and stars were all silent; 
waters and winds were all dumb. 

With deep anxiety and a throbbing heart, I 
turned and asked philosophy. But it said, "I 
can not tell." I then asked every form of science 
and every branch of human knowledge, and 
their reply was, "We do not know." O my soul, 
is there no answer to this solemn question ? 
Shall Egyptian darkness shroud our pathway 
through life ? Shall we go sorrowing down to 
the tomb ? No, no, no. I unfolded the Bible and 
read its holy pages. It solves the problem. It 
removes every doubt. It boldly declares, ' iChrist 
hath brought life and immortality to light" I see 
the dying thief hanging upon the cross. Turn- 
ing his languid eyes upon Jesus, he says, "Lord, 
remember me when thou comest into thy king- 
dom." This day, ah, this day, "shalt thou be 
with me in paradise," says the blessed Saviour. 
Enough, enough, I rest here. Be still, sad 
heart, and know that God reigns, and that there 
is a future eternal blessedness for those that 
love God and keep his commandments. And 
know further, that the loved ones of earth that 
we laid away in the cold and silent grave are 
only gone before and are awaiting us in our 
Father's house on high. We shall see them again. 



82 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

We shall KNOW them. List! methinks I hear the 
melody of their voices mingling with the angels' 
song! Happy spirits, glorified saints! washed in 
the blood of the Lamb, purified, sanctified, 
saved, enthroned in the realms of light and life, 
empalaced in the mansions of heavenly beati- 
tude. We soon shall join and help swell that 
mighty anthem of praise that rolls like a sea of 
glory through all the camps and courts and 
plains of heaven. O joyous hope! O glorious 
consummation! Without this, the universe is an 
enigma — dark, mysterious, inexplicable — with 
no star to shine upon our pathway; no light to 
illumine the darkness that surrounds us. 

"A few short years of exile past, 
We reach the heavenly shore, 
Where death-divided friends at last 
Shall meet to part no more." 

Wipe, wipe away those falling tears 
And sing to me of eternal day. 

The Bible, the Bible alone then answers the 
question of a future existence. Shall we walk 
by its light, or shall we grope our way in dark- 
ness. For my part I accept the light and rejoice 
in it. 

Now a religion that meets all the wants of our 
present condition; provides for the pardon of 
our sins; the purification of our nature; restora- 
tion to the divine favor; comforts us in afflic- 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 83 

tion; supports us in death; and opens up to us 
a blessed immortality beyond the grave, must 
necessarily be from God. For God alone pos- 
sesses a perfect knowledge of human nature and 
he alone could adjust a system of religion to 
meet all the requirements of the case. 



84 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 



CHAPTER VII. 



HUMAN EXPERIENCE. 

I WANT in this short chapter to get down 
close to every man's heart and conscience, 
and thence deduce an overwhelming argument 
in favor of the divine authority of the Bible. 

Much has been said about Christian experi- 
ence, and some have even questioned its reality. 
But let us look into this matter a little. It is 
not the Christian alone that has an experience, 
but the sinner likewise. The difference between 
the two is this: The Christian's experience reach- 
es out farther than that of the sinner. The sinner 
has an experience of sin, more or less. All men 
have this. He feels something of its burden, its 
discomfort. He feels that all is not right be- 
tween him and God. The Christian felt all of 
this before his conversion. After his conver- 
sion he felt the burden of sin removed, his fears 
allayed, and the love of God shed abroad in his 
heart. Now, if one can feel the burden of sin, 
can he not feel when the burden is taken away? 
Surely he can. Thus we have the testimony of 
the race to the doctrine of Christian experience. 
Let us go a little further in this examination. 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 85 

The Scriptures divide men into two classes — 
those that know God and those that do not know 
God. The former they represent as loving God, 
as being regenerate persons. The latter they 
represent as being dead in trespasses and sins; 
as being unrenewed; as being in a state of 
nature. These, they state, do not love God. Now, 
does not every unrenewed man realize the truth 
of these scriptural statements in regard to his 
spiritual condition? Does he not know that he 
does not love God? Does he not know that he 
thinks of God rather tuithfear than love? Does he 
not know that the teachings of the Scripture in 
reference to his state is borne out by his own 
consciousness? Now, I ask every regenerate, 
man if he does not know that he loves God? 
He says, "Yes; I am just as conscious of it as I 
am that I love my wife and children." What 
then? Why, we have the testimony of both 
saint and sinner to the truth of the Scripture as 
to man's moral and spiritual state. God has not 
left himself without witnesses to the truth of 
his word. But he has so interwoven its princi- 
ples into man's mental and moral constitution as 
to make man testify against himself and in favor 
of the truth of the Bible. Now, the point of the 
argument is this: How did it happen that the 
scriptural authors, writing nearly two thousand 
years ago, knew all these facts respecting hu- 
man nature, and were able to delineate so clearly 



86 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

the characteristics of the two classes into which 
they divide the race? How did they know, how 
could they know, unless they were divinely inspired? 
And if they were divinely inspired, then the Bible 
is from God. But let us probe this matter a lit- 
tle further, and see if human consciousness does 
not bear additional testimony to the truth of the 
Bible. The Scriptures teach that every one 
must have the forgiveness of his sins. This is 
a primary and essential condition of salvation, 
which every man's judgment and conscience ap- 
proves. Every one feels and knows that his sins 
must be blotted out or he can not be saved. 
Furthermore, the Bible teaches the doctrine of 
regeneration, or the impartation of a new spir- 
itual nature to the sinner. This likewise is one 
of the obvious necessities of our being, for 
heaven is a holy place, a holy God reigns there, 
and holy angels worship around his throne. 
Therefore we must be made holy, too, in order 
to enjoy such holy associations. Any other 
supposition would destroy all the analogies of 
nature and the harmonies of the universe. Thus 
we see that the teachings of the Bible are found- 
ed in the nature of things and could not be oth- 
erwise than they are without jarring discordant- 
ly with the nature of man and the character of 
God. 



AUTHORITY OP THE BIBLE. 87 



CHAPTER VIII. 



CHRISTIANITY AND INFIDELITY CONTRASTED. 

IT IS an accepted principle amongst all peo- 
ple that "a tree is known by its fruit." 
Now, let ns try Christianity and infidelity by 
this rule. 

As the fruit of Christianity, look at our splen- 
did civilization, our just laws, our magnificent 
government, our vast school system for the ed- 
ucation of every child in the republic, our blind 
and deaf and dumb asylums, hospitals for the 
sick, our Sunday-school system embracing mil- 
lions of children receiving instruction and moral 
and religious training, missionary societies for 
carrying the gospel to the dark and benighted 
regions of the earth, benevolent institutions al- 
most without number, intended to advance the 
interest and happiness of the race and promote 
the glory of God. Look at the thousands upon 
thousands of Christian men and ivomen who are 
praying and toiling and sacrificing to enlighten 
the minds and reclaim wanderers from the paths 
of rectitude — men and women that give up all 
the endearments of home and kindred, all the 
associations of friends, all the pleasures and 



88 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

comforts of civilization, and bidding a last fare- 
well to the scenes of their childhood and the 
graves of their sires, they go forth to the dark 
corners of the earth among savage and ferocious 
tribes to teach them the way of life. I hear 
them sing as they bid adieu to the shores of their 
native land — 

"Jesus, I my cross have taken, 
All to leave, and follow thee." 

What makes these people do this? Let me tell 
you; their hearts have been touched by a spark 
from the heavenly altar, their souls are all 
aflame with the love of God and man, and they 
have fixed their gaze upon the eternal throne 
and the starry crown. Go on brothers, go on 
sisters, bearing precious seed; after a while 
"you shall return with rejoicing, bringing your 
sheaves with you." Ah! what is that I see? It 
is a mighty host with the palms of victory. 
What is that I hear? It is the shout of "an in- 
numerable multitude who have washed their 
robes, and made them white in the blood of the 
Lamb." This is the fruit of your labors. 

Such are some of the fruits of Christianity. 

Turn now to Infidelity. Ask for its colleges 
and schools. Where are they? None! Its 
asylums? None! Its hospitals? None! Its 
benevolent institutions? None! Its missionary 
societies for the propagation of truth? None! 



AUTHORITY OP THE BIBLE. 89 

Orphan asylums? None! What! No monu- 
ments of its march? No trophies of victory 
over sin? None! No torn and rent battle -flag 
borne aloft in the death-grapple with evil? 
None! Why, what has it done for the peace, 
elevation and happiness of the race? Nothing! 
If it has any fruits in this field, let them be 
pointed out. I ask again, where has it been and 
what has it done in the dreadful conflict that has 
ever been going on in the world against vice and 
immorality? Has it not, Judas-like, betrayed 
every interest of the race? It has carried no 
banner but the banner of death. It has won no 
victories but over the innocent. It has sung no 
songs but the orgies of blood and revolution. 
It has raised no shouts but the shouts over fallen 
virtue and truth. It has uttered no cries but 
the cries of triumph over wrecked and ruined 
humanity. Its history is crowned with crime. 
I charge it before the tribunal of earth as being 
the enemy of all righteousness and truth. I im- 
peach it before high heaven as the foe of both 
God and man. For a confirmation of these 
charges read the history of the Reign of Terror 
in France. It has not only done no good, but 
evil, continually. Has it anything to offer to the 
sons and daughters of affliction? Nothing. 

There stands the bereaved mother weeping at 
the grave of loved ones. Infidelity can offer no 
consolation. It can only say, "Weep on for- 



90 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

ever. Your children are lost to you. Beyond 
the tomb there is no heavenly home, no radiant 
shore, no happy bowers, no Father's bosom, no 
Savior's love, no blissful immortality. Death 
ends all. It is an eternal sleep." Oh, what a 
crushing blow to the poor, sorrowing mother. 
In bitterness of soul she cries, "O my children, 
would to God I had died with you." 

But here comes the bright angel of Christian- 
ity and inquires, "Woman, why weepest thou?" 
She replies, "Because my children are swal- 
lowed up in death and I shall never see them 
more. They are lost to me forever." "Dry 
thy tears," says the angel, "thy children are 
not dead, but sleep. Beyond the narrow con- 
fines of the tomb there is a fair land, a happy 
home, where joy forever reigns. There flows 
the crystal river of life, there bloom the trees of 
paradise, there angels sing their everlasting 
songs, there seraphs and cherubims cry without 
ceasing, 'Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, 
just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints/ 
and millions of -immortal spirits join in mighty 
chorus, Alleluiah ! for the Lord God Omnipotent 
reigneth. Your children are in the happy world, 
where no sorrow ever comes, where no tears are 
ever shed, where no death is ever feared. And 
these bodies, though they molder back to dust, 
shall at God's call be raised, remolded and ren- 
dered immortal in the kingdom of God. And you, 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 91 

too, my sister, after a few fleeting years, shall go 
and join them in that heavenly world and live 
with them before the throne of God forever. "" 
The mother, comforted, wipes away her tears, 
and smiles in hopes of meeting the loved ones in 
heaven. 

Another point of contrast is that infidelity is 
destructive, whereas Christianity is constructive. 
They are both progressive, but in opposite di- 
rections; the one downward, the other upward. 
The one tends to decay and death; the other ta 
light and life. This is the necessary result from 
their different standpoints. Infidelity makes 
most of the material, the selfish and the sensual. 
Christianity makes most of the spiritual, the 
generous and self-denying. Consequently the 
one builds up and the other pulls down; the one 
leads to heaven and the other to hell. Another 
thing, if infidelity were true its advocates gain 
nothing by it. They are left just where they 
would be if they had not embraced it. If Chris- 
tianity is true, we gain much every way, both in 
this world and in the world to come. In this 
world the pardon of sin, peace with God, com- 
munion with him, resignation to his will, victory 
over sin, triumph in death. In the future world 
robes, crowns, harps and everlasting bliss. Is 
not that a difference? Which will you take? 



92 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 



CHAPTER IX. 



SOME OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 



HEREDITY. 

IT IS objected that the Bible teaches that the 
iniquities of the father are visited upon the 
€hildren to the third and fourth generations. 
"Well, is not this the fact? Is not this the order 
of the universe? It is not only recorded in the 
Bible, but it is written everywhere else. It is 
the constitution of tilings that the conduct and en- 
vironment of man passes over in its effects to an- 
other. "We ^re enjoying to-day the civil priv- 
ileges that our forefathers poured out their blood 
to secure. We are enjoying to-day the spiritual 
blessings that Christ purchased for us. In each 
of these cases we are the recipients of the bless- 
ings wrought out by others. But if the princi- 
ple holds good in reference to blessings, it holds 
equally good in reference to disadvantages. 

Take a few illustrations. The transmission 
of disease from parents to children is a well- 
established fact. Consumption, for instance, 
running down through whole generations. 
Parents long addicted to drunkenness will trans- 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 93 

mit the taint to their offspring. There are whole 
generations of drunkards, whole generations of 
thieves, whole generations of murderers from 
this hereditary transmission. They are not 
necessarily and imperatively so. But inherit- 
ing a proclivity in these directions from their 
parents they generally become such, But nature 
has placed a limit to the propagation of their 
species, for in three or four generations they 
exhaust their vitality and die out. 

This principle admits of almost indefinite ex- 
tension and application. Family likenesses and 
peculiarities are so marked that if you know one 
of the family, you readily recognize the others. 

One man by industry and economy builds up 
a competency, his children share the benefits^ 
another man by dissipation and extravagance 
squanders a fortune, his children suffer the loss. 
God has in his providential arrangements thrown 
every possible safeguard about right doing; and 
presented every motive to prompt men to it, 
even assuring them that a contrary course long 
continued will shape the destiny of their chil- 
dren. 

This is heredity; this is transmission so much 
talked about in these days as if it were some- 
thing new. It is an old doctrine, inwrought into 
the very texture of things. It lies at the very 
foundation of the divine scheme for the salvation 
of the race. If by our connection with Adam 



94 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

ive forfeit our life, it is only by our connection 
with Christ we can regain it. 

Instead of being an objection to the Bible, it 
is a proof and illustration of its truth. Moses 
announced it thousands of years before anybody 
■else ever thought of it. Science has finally 
worked itself up to this point and now stands by 
the side of the Bible in its promulgation. This 
answers the objection and vindicates the truth 
of the Bible. 

MYSTERIOUS. 

Well for once the infidel is in agreement with 
the Bible; for that is just what it says of itself: 
"Great is the mystery of godliness: God was 
manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen 
of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed 
on in the world, received up into glory." — I. 
Tim. 3:16. 

I accept the fact that it is mysterious; and 
from this I derive a strong argument that it is 
of divine origin, for we find everything else is 
mysterious. Now if there w T ere no mystery in 
the Bible, it would be out of harmony with other 
things, and therefore could not be the word of 
God. But as we find mystery in nature and 
mystery in the Bible, whoever made the one 
must have made the other. 

Men do not possess the knowledge of material 
objects around them they suppose they do. 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 95 

They know absolutely nothing whatever of the 
essence or inherent nature of anything. They 
know just as much of Spirit as they do of mat- 
ter. They know things only by their qualities 
and effects. A religion from heaven must in 
the nature of things be more or less mysterious. 
If there were no mystery about it, it would not 
be worth having. 

DIFFICULTIES IN THE BIBLE. 

They say there are great difficulties in the 
Bible. That is true. But there are much greater 
difficulties in infidelity. I am asked to explain 
and reconcile these difficulties. I will do so 
when they will explain the difficulties pertaining 
to any other department of knowledge. You 
should bear in mind that our knowledge is very 
limited. There is nothing perfectly understood. 
Millions speak the English language, yet not one 
of these millions perfectly understands it. But 
few understand even half of it. God foresaw the 
difficulties of our comprehending in its fulness 
his revelation, therefore he connected our re- 
ceiving its benefits, not so much with our com- 
prehending it, as with our believing it. If we 
must reject everything we do not fully under- 
stand, then we must reject every branch of 
human knowledge. As but very few articles of 
diet will support the human body, so but very 
little divine knowledge will save the soul. You 



96 THE DIVJNE ORIGIN AND 

don't have to understand theology in all its vast 
sweep and deep intricacies in order to be saved. 
Only repent of your sins, confess them before 
God, forsake them and believe in the Lord Jesus 
Christ and thou shalt be saved. 

DIVERSITY OF FAITH. 

They ask, "Why so great diversity of faith 
among Christians ? " I ask why so great diver- 
sity of faith amongst infidels ? They agree 
scarcely in anything except in their opposition 
to the Bible. 

"When they come to something like unity 
amongst themselves I will be ready to explain 
fully the cause of differences amongst ourselves. 

SHORTCOMINGS OF THE OLD SAINTS. 

They endeavor to make capital out of the 
shortcomings of notable Bible characters. Noah, 
they say, got drunk, Abraham prevaricated, 
Jacob defrauded; David committed adultery, 
Solomon fell into idolatry. Now, this is all true. 
But, now, mark you how different is this candid 
statement of facts from all merely human writ- 
ings. There is no suppressing of anything, no 
glossing over, no attempt at justification, but a 
rigid and impartial statement of the truth. You 
find this in no mere human composition. You 
have read the biography of Washington, and it 
has been written by many authors. They repre- 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 97 

sent him as possessing a singularly sound judg- 
ment and great self-control. This is all true. 
But how many of them tell you that he some- 
times lost his balance and then he swore like a 
trooper. Why did they not tell the whole truth 
like the Bible? Simply because they were hu- 
man and the Bible is divine. 

But further, admitting the full force of the 
objection, what does it prove? Why, simply 
this, that man is fallen, ruined, and that even 
the best of men are not good enough by nature 
to be saved. It proves, just what the Bible 
teaches, the depravity of man and the necessity 
of a Savior. All too bad to save themselves, 
and therefore God must save them or they per- 
ish. The objection thus turns against the ob- 
jector and becomes a clear proof of the inspira- 
tion of the Bible. 

CONTRADICTIONS. 

Why, my dear sir, did you ever examine this 
charge carefully? Did you ever explore the 
origin a] languages? Did you ever make any al- 
lowance for possible mistranslation? Do you 
not know that there are innumerable verbal con- 
tradictions in everyday life and all kinds of 
writings, when, in point of fact, there is no real 
contradiction at all? I could give you a thou- 
sand. I can truly say, I can kill my infant 
child, and just as truly say, I can not kill my in- 



98 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

fant child. In the first statement I refer to my 
physical ability, in the second to my moral ability. 
I might say, Some men are six feet high, and 
just as truly say some men are not six feet high, 
and so on in unnumbered instances-. Nobody is 
misled by these statements, unless he wants to 
be, unless he wants to pervert the truth. 

The Bible is a very singular and wonderful 
book. It -is so written that one can find the 
truth if he searches for it and id ants to find it. 
They can find the truth and be saved, or they can 
pervert the truth and be damned. 

It is objected that many act inconsistently and 
many fall away. This, so far from being an ob- 
jection, is a proof of its divine origin, for Christ 
foretold that such would be the case. He said 
there should be tares and stony ground. He 
said that some of the early springing wheat 
should come to nothing, because there was no 
depth of earth. 

The apostle likewise predicts the same thing. 
He says, "Now, the Spirit speaketh expressly 
that in the last days some shall depart from the 
faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doc- 
trines of devils." Your objection turns out, 
then, to furnish a strong proof of divine inspira- 
tion. Furthermore, these falls prove the im- 
perfection of our nature and the absolute need 
of a Savior. 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 99 



CHAPTER X. 



DIFFICULTIES OF INFIDELITY. 

THEY can not tell whether there is any God 
or not. They say they don't know, but 
hardly think there is. 

They can give no rational or even plausible 
account of the creation of the world. 

Ask them to account for the origin of life in 
this world, and they are dumbfounded. 

They can give no account of the entrance of 
man on this sphere. 

They can tell nothing of how moral evil came 
here. 

Ask them whether man has any soul or spir- 
itual nature and they reply, they can't tell, but 
doa't think he has. In their estimation, he is 
no more than the beasts that perish. With these 
low views of humanity, no wonder they are not 
willing to make any sacrifices for its elevation 
and advancement. 

They can not tell whether there is any differ- 
ence between truth and falsehood. 

They confessedly know nothing in regard to 
a future state. 



100 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

It is a system of negations, that is, if you can 
call a mass of confusion a system. 

It can not solve one of the great problems of 
existence. It furnishes no standard of right; ac- 
knowledges no lawgiver; can offer no balm to 
the stricken, no hope to the despairing, no 
Father's love, no Savior's compassion, no home 
— no bliss beyond the grave. 

I ask him to account for the success of the 
gospel. How did it happen that twelve fisher- 
men of Galilee, without wealth, power, learning, 
or eloquence, went forth against the most 
gigantic system of idolatry that ever enthralled 
the race or enslaved the mind of man — a system 
that was congenial to the human heart; that 
pandered to every indulgence; that was en- 
throned in the affections of the people, support- 
ed by the power of the state, the wealth of the 
rich, and the learning of the philosophers, and 
in a few years overthrew the vast fabric and 
planted the banner of the Cross on her ruined 
temples and crumbling battlements? Tell us 
how it was possible, without divine interposi- 
tion, to have accomplished such results with 
such inadequate means. The success of the 
gospel, then, proves its divine origin. 

You say, Mohammedanism was propagated 
more rapidly. Yes, but how? By conquest, by 
the sword. Moreover, it was congenial to man's 
corrupt passions, and promised him the gratifi- 



AUTHORITY OP THE BIBLE. 101 

cation of his carnal appetites. But the gospel 
of Christ taught the most rigM self-denial, and 
is contrary to the whole trend of human nature. 
These are world-wide differences. Besides, 
Mohammedanism has for ages made no progress, 
while Christianity is conquering the w T orld. 

Another question. I ask the infidel to point to 
one man, woman or child in all the teeming mil- 
lions of earth whose morals have been corrupted, 
whose heart has been vitiated, whose life has 
been wrecked by following the teachings of the 
Bible. If there is any instance of the kind, let 
it be named. Again, I ask him, "Did he ever 
know of one, or ever hear of one, or ever READ 
of one who regretted being a Christian when he 
came to die? If he did not, what a testimony is 
here presented in favor of the Bible ! — a testi- 
mony of human nature itself to the excellence of 
the Book. 

Again, I ask him how he proposes to lift the 
burden of sin from man's heart. If he doesn't 
believe that burden is there, let him ask the first 
man he meets. Have you any remedy to offer? 
None! He can only say you must carry it till 
you sink into the grave and eternal forgetful - 
ness. 

To another question I would like to have an 
answer, and that is, "How did it come to pass 
that in the darkest night of the world's history, 
when the race was sunk into the lowest depths 



102 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

of moral debasement, there arose in Judea the 
grandest and purest character that ever walked 
the earth? Without learning, he knew all 
things. Without a throne or an army, he wield- 
ed all power. Amidst a moral waste around 
him he displayed the loftiest rectitude. He pos- 
sessed a firmness that was never daunted, a he- 
roism that never faltered, a humility that was 
the astonishment of the universe. Here is an 
enigma. I want a solution of it. Can the infidel 
give it? He can not. But one can be given, 
"He was the Son of God." 

Once more. Can infidelity shed any light 
upon the future state of man? When death 
closes the scene, does eternal darkness and un- 
consciousness swallow us up? I want to know, 
every human being wants to know, whether 
death is an eternal sleep, or whether it is only 
the portal through which we enter to higher 
joys or sink to deeper horrors. Again infidelity 
is dumb. It has no voice in regard to the 
future. 

Some speak of the Bible as if it were respon- 
sible for the entrance of sin. It had nothing 
whatever to do with that. Sin was here ages 
before the Bible was. And if you blot out the 
Bible you do not blot out sin. It would still 
rage with unwonted violence, and hell would 
flame as fiercely as ever. You might as well 
charge medicine with being the cause of disease 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 103 

as to hold the Bible responsible for the presence 
of sin. Both are remedial in their design. The 
one proposes healing the body, the other the 
soul, and restoring each to its normal state. 

A FEW QUESTIONS ADDRESSED TO MR. INGER- 
SOLL. 

Mr. Ingersoll, why do you oppose the Bible? 
Is it because it teaches us to be honest and pay 
our debts? No. Is it because it teaches us to 
tell the truth? No. Is it because it teaches us 
to be order-loving and law-abiding citizens? No. 
Is it because it teaches husbands and wives to 
be affectionate and children obedient? No. Is 
it because it teaches us to be kind and loving to 
the poor and unfortunate? No. Is it because 
it teaches us to love our fellow- beings, and do 
all we can for their happiness? No. Is it be- 
cause it teaches us to love and obey God? No. 
Then, in the name of heaven, Mr. Ingersoll, 
what are your objections to it? These questions 
sweep the whole field, cover the whole ground. 
Is there no objection to urge? Well, says Mr. 
Ingersoll, I don't like what that book says 
about that eternal hell over there, that bottom- 
less pit, that lake of fire and brimstone and that 
never dying worm. 

But, Mr. Ingersoll, was it not very kind in 
the writers of this book to tell you about that 
bad place and warn you against going there? 



104 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

Was it not very good and merciful in the great 
God of the universe to send his Son to die for 
you and to make a way for you to escape that 
horrible doom? That world wasn't made for 
you, Mr. Ingersoll. It was prepared for the 
devil and his angels. It is true, you can go 
there if you want to. You know you are a great 
advocate for liberty, and you would resent it as an 
invasion of your personal rights if you were pre- 
vented from going there if you desired to do so. 
Now, God proposes letting you have your own 
way. You can go there and be miserable, or 
you can go to heaven (if it is not in your case 
too late) and be happy. Which will you choose? 
Further, Mr. Ingersoll, whatever may be your 
belief in regard to that world doesn't alter in 
the least the facts in the case. Hell exists 
whether the Bible is true or not. You do not 
abolish hell by doing away with the Bible. You 
might as well expect to blot out the sun by clos- 
ing your eyes and turning your back. Let me 
lay down a formula: An infinitely righteous Cre- 
ator, a just and holy law, a responsible subject 
under that law, with the penalty of death for 
disobedience and the logical and inevitable out- 
come is an eternal hell. There is no escaping 
this conclusion. To reach any other result 
would be to violate all the analogies of nature 
and all the conditions by which we are sur- 
rounded. A universe without a hell would be 



AUTHORITY OP THE BIBLE. 105 

the same as a civil government without a 
prison. 

You have thus far, Mr. Ingersoll, urged noth- 
ing of any force whatever against the Bible. 

Now, I ask, why it is, then, you are going 
a,bout over the country lecturing to weak men 
and silly women against this book? I have read 
some paragraphs from your lectures, and there 
was nothing true and commendable in them but 
what you got from the Bible. You have dressed 
yourself out in borrowed plumes. You have 
plagiarized from the Holy Book. You are get- 
ting to be an old man and will soon lie down in 
the grave. Is it not time to repent of your sins 
and quit your folly? Ah, sir, you have nothing 
to allay the stings of an accusing conscience, 
nothing to comfort in the hour of affliction, noth- 
ing to support amid death's gathering gloom. 
Pare well! You accept Agnosticism; I accept 
the Bible and Jesus Christ. Let us see how we 
shall come out. 

SOME OTHER QUESTIONS. 

It is sometimes asked why Christ did not fur- 
nish more ample and convincing proofs of his 
divinity. He furnished all that could be asked. 
To have offered more would have destroyed the 
freedom of choice and forced conviction. He 
was the subject of prophecies almost without 



106 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

number. There were types setting him forth in 
all his offices of Prophet, Priest and King. 

The purity of his life, the sublimity of his 
doctrines, the grandeur of his death and the 
glory of his resurrection and ascension suffi- 
ciently testify his divinity. 

Why does not God write his name all over the 
heavens? He has done it. Not in human lan- 
guage, that not one in a thousand could read, 
but in the sun and moon and stars which all can 
understand. 

Why does not one come back from the dead 
and reveal to us the dread secrets that lie be- 
yond the tomb? One did come back from the 
dead, Jesus Christ, and has told us what is on 
the other side of the grave, and we have it 
recorded in the Bible. 

Why does not God speak in an audible voice 
from heaven? He did it often, and on one occa- 
sion some said it thundered, and others said an 
angel spake to him. 

That a voice from heaven would not reach and 
affect men is evident from the fact that while 
God was speaking to Moses on the Mount the 
multitude were down at the foot making a golden 
calf to lead them back into Egypt. 

You are still incredulous, and ask for a mira- 
cle. Well, will you accept the Bible if I point 
you to a miracle right before your eyes? A 
miracle of two thousand years' continuance. If 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 107 

so, look at the preservation of the Jews. Sup- 
pose the Mississippi, pouring its stream into 
the Gulf, were to travel for two thousand years 
through the waters of the ocean, still preserving 
its identity, you would say that was a wondrous 
miracle. And sure it would be. But it would 
be no greater than the wanderings of the Jews 
through the nations of the earth and still pre- 
serving their identity. Well did Abraham say 
to the rich man, '* Tf they believe not Moses and 
the prophets, neither would they believe if one 
should rise from the dead." Ah, my dear sir, 
it is not the want of evidence that makes people 
reject the Bible, but a bad heart. 

WHY GOD PERMITTED SIN TO ENTER INTO THE 
WORLD. 

This is a question so profound that it would 
be presumptuous in me to attempt its solution. 
It may not, however, be out of place to make a* 
few suggestions that may throw some light upon 
it. God reveals his poiver and his ivisdom in the 
works of creation, but these are only two at- 
tributes of his character, and give only a very 
limited view of his nature. His moral attributes 
of love, justice, mercy, holiness and truth are 
not brought into view by these works. Hence, 
to make known these attributes a different sys- 
tem had to be adopted. That system was the 
creation of rational and intelligent beings, made 



108 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

upright and capable of standing, but free to 
fall. God's service must be a free service, a 
heart service. In the exercise of this freedom 
man fell, and thus introduced sin and death into 
the world. God was in no wise responsible for 
this result. He might have given a different 
constitution to things, but if he had he never 
could have manifested his character to his sub- 
jects. 

For illustration, let us take the attribute of 
holiness, or absolute purity from all defilement. 
How will God reveal this characteristic to his 
creatures? Evidently it could not be done in 
any other way than by object lessons — the very 
method set forth in the Mosaic Institutions. Moral 
principles and abstract ideas could not have 
been communicated in any other manner. Ideas 
themselves had first to be originated, then words 
to express those ideas. Now, what possible con- 
ception could man have had of the attribute of 
holiness without contrasting it with sin or im- 
purity? Hence all those washings and purifica- 
tions required in the Levitical economy was to 
originate the idea of purity, and the inference 
was irresistible that the being that required in 
his worship so much purification was himself 
pure or holy. Hence they got this idea of holi- 
ness as one of God's attributes, and therefore if 
God is holy his worshippers must be holy also. 
Take any people who have not this idea already 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 109 

in their minds, and who have no word in their 
language to express it, it will be impossible to 
convey this idea by any other means than that 
which is set forth in the books of Moses. 

What could man have ever known of the at- 
tribute of mercy unless he felt the need of it? 
And this he could never do unless he first felt 
himself a condemned sinner. 

What could he have ever known of God's love 
unless he had sinned and fallen under the con- 
demnation of God's law? 

What could he ever have known of God's jus- 
tice if he had not violated God's law and seen 
the vindication of the law by the obedience and 
death of the Lord Jesus Christ? 

Thus we see the presence of sin in the world 
is an important factor in bringing to our minds 
a knowledge oi God. In fact, we never could 
have known the moral attributes of God if there 
had been no sin. In the fall of the angels we 
see only stern and inflexible justice. In the fall 
of man other characteristics of the divine nature 
are brought out, namely, love, mercy, truth, 
holiness, etc. 

The system of the universe is not a system of 
inflexible natural law as taught by philosophers 
and commonly received by theologians. Such 
would be fatality. 

The system is the reign of law modified in its 
effects by other laws, and man has this power of 



110 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

modification. Without this power he would al- 
ways have been the slave of those laws and 
never could have achieved his dominion over the 
world which God gave him. With this power 
he will carry forward the conquest until he gains 
a complete victory. Take a few illustrations: 
One leaping from a tall house upon a stone pave- 
ment would be crushed. But by taking a par- 
achute in his hands and retarding his descent he 
can land upon the pavement safely. Gravity is 
not destroyed by this arrangement, but it is 
modified. Or, by interposing the law of elas- 
ticity, and alighting on beds of feathers, the 
same end can be reached. 

One receives a severe cut in the flesh, inflam- 
mation is set up, gangrene follows and death 
ensues as the result of the wound. The physi- 
cian comes, applies the constringing powers of 
cold and thus counteracts the expansive power 
of heat, and the patient recovers. 

Gold is locked up in the hard quartz. The 
law of cohesion holding the quartz together must 
be overcome before the gold can be secured. 
This is done by percussion, or the application of 
external force. 

The whole department of medicine consists in 
a large measure of counteracting the laws of 
diseased action by setting up the laws of healthy 
action. Machinery is driven by the expansive 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. Ill 

force of steam, but the engineer can arrest this 
law by the introduction of other natural laws. 

It is strange that infidels have dwelt with so 
much emphasis upon the domination of nat- 
ural law and its inexorable reign. But it is 
stranger still that Christians have not seen the 
utter fallacy of the assumption and exposed it. 
It is not at all improbable that man will ulti- 
mately be able not only to modify all natural 
law, but practically to annul them for the time. 

TYPES OF CHRIST. 

There were in the Old Testament a great many 
types of Christ. Of these, Moses was a very 
conspicuous one. Let us trace out some of the 
remarkable correspondences in their character 
and history. 

Moses was born of lowly parents. 
Christ was born of lowly parents. 

When Moses was born there was an edict to 
destroy all the male children. 

When Christ was born there was a great 
slaughter of male children. 

Moses was noted for faith and humility. 
Christ was noted for faith and humility. 

Moses was distinguished for zeal and faithful- 
ness. 

Christ was distinguished for zeal and faithful- 
ness. 



112 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

Moses in infancy was exposed to persecution. 
Christ in infancy was exposed to persecution. 

The Israelites knew not Moses and considered 
him an impostor. 

The Jews knew not Christ and considered 
him an impostor. 

Moses was a mediator between God and the 
people. 

Christ was a mediator between God and the 
sinner. 

Moses was a supreme legislator. 
Christ was a supreme legislator. 

Moses was a prophet. 
Christ was a prophet. 

Moses chose seventy elders. 
Christ chose seventy disciples. 

Moses chose twelve men to spy out the land. 
Christ chose twelve disciples to preach the 
gospel. 

Moses fasted forty days and nights. 
Christ fasted forty days and nights. 

The Israelites could not enter Canaan till 
Moses' death. 

Sinners can enter heaven only on the merits 
of Christ's death. 

Abraham was a type of Christ as to obedience. 

Isaac was a type of Christ as to his birth — it 

being out of the ordinary course of nature, as. 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 113 

being an only son; likewise typified the death of 
Christ, carried the wood for his sacrifice as 
Christ carried the cross for his crucifixion. 

Joshua was a type of Christ as conqueror of 
the heathen. 

Christ, as the conqueror of sin and Satan. 

Solomon, of the majesty and glory and peace- 
ful reign of Christ. 

Melchizedek was a type of Christ as to the 
mystery of his person. Much useless specula- 
tion has been indulged in in regard to his char- 
acter. Just accept what the "Book" says about 
him and there rest. He was king of Salem — 
without father, without mother, so far as the 
divine record goes, that is, nothing is said of his 
parentage. Without this obscurity he would not 
have been a suitable type of Christ, who was 
without father as to his human nature and with- 
out mother as to his divine nature. 

We might give almost unnumbered instances 
besides these of those strange and wonderful co- 
incidences between the characters of the Old 
Testament and that of Christ. A whole volume 
might be written upon it without exhausting it. 
But we have neither the time nor the space. 
These are amply sufficient to show that we can 
not account for these correspondences without 
admitting the inspiration of the Bible and the 
divinity of Christ. 

I will only add a few more, taken at random. 



114 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

Genesis opens with paradise and the tree of 
life; Revelation closes with paradise and the 
tree of life. 

The law was given on a Mount; Christ ex- 
pounded the laws of his kingdom on a Mount. 

Three thousand slain on the giving of the law. 

Three thousand saved at the preaching of the 
gospel at Pentecost. 

Three raised from the dead in Old Testament 
history. 

Three raised from the dead by Christ during 
his ministry. 

The sprinkling of the blood of the paschal 
lamb secured the Israelites from the sword of 
the destroying angel. 

The sprinkling of the blood of Christ saves 
the sinner from death and hell. 

There were seventy elders of the people of 
Israel. 

Christ sent forth seventy disciples. 

There were twelve sons of Jacob. 

There were twelve apostles. 

Moses was forty days on the Mount. 

Christ was forty days with his disciples after 
his resurrection. 

Jordan, which pours its rapid w T aters into the 
Dead sea, typifies sin and death. 

Canaan, the beautiful and glorious land, typi- 
fies heaven. 

Egypt typifies the slavery, misery and degra- 
dation of sin. 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 115 

The journey through the wilderness typifies 
the journey of God's people from earth to glory. 

THE CONTRAST. 

Rev. 14:13. And I heard a voice from heaven 
saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead 
which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, 
saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their 
labors; and their works do follow them. 

All human actions are prospective in their in- 
fluence; never retrospective. They go ahead 
of man and prepare tHe way before him. The 
actions of to-day can not possibly alter the state 
of things yesterday, but they influence the con- 
dition of things to-morrow, next week, next 
year, and on through life and eternity. What a 
fearful thought! When man dies, he outstrips 
his actions and goes on into the eternal world 
and there waits until his actions work out their 
legitimate results, and then they follow and 
meet him at the judgment bar, when God assigns 
him his exact position in heaven or hell, accord- 
ing to his works. Saved by grace, but reivarded 
according to his works. 

In illustration and confirmation of the text 
above, I deem it not inappropriate to present a 
few cases of the departure of Christians from 
earth to glory: 

I will begin with that of Paul, the illustrious 
Apostle; a man highly educated, of lofty talents, 



116 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

burning zeal, fiery eloquence and impetuous 
character. Stricken down on the road to Damas- 
cus by a light above the brightness of the sun 
and a voice from heaven, he joins the Christian 
ranks and immediately preaches in the syna- 
gogues the doctrines of the cross. He threw his 
whole soul into the great work of preaching the 
faith w T hich he once labored to destroy. 

After a life of labor, toil, sacrifices and suffer- 
ings the hour comes for him to die. Is he 
alarmed ? Does he shudder and recoil at the 
thoughts of death ? No. Hear him, "I am now 
ready to be offered, and the time of my departure 
is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have 
finished my course, I have kept the faith: hence- 
forth there is laid up for me a crown of right- 
eousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, 
shall give me at that day: and not to me only, 
but unto all them also that love his appearing." 
What a triumphant exit! What a glorious de- 
parture! Now look up yonder to that innumer- 
able throng of blood-bought saints; that mighty 
host who have come up through great tribula- 
tion and have washed their robes and made them 
white in the blood of the Lamb. See you that 
bright glorified one wearing a jeweled crown! 
That is Paul. 

Bishop Bedell, addressing his family just be- 
fore his departure, declared: "Knowing that I 
must shortly put off this my tabernacle, I know 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 117 

also that I have a building of God, a house not 
made with hands, eternal in the heavens. There- 
fore to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain, 
which increases my desire even now, to depart 
and be with Christ, which is far better. I ascend 
to my Father and to your Father; to my God 
and to your God through the all-sufficient merits 
of Jesus Christ my Redeemer, who ever lives to 
make intercession for me." 

During the war a soldier returned home from 
the army on furlough and was taken sick with 
flux. I was with him during his sickness. The 
night of his death was dark and gloomy. The 
family and friends were gathered around his 
dying bed. In the struggle between life and 
death, he gazed and gazed, as if he were looking 
into the very depths of the eternal world, then 
exclaiming, "Father, I have this night fought 
a great fight and have conquered." These were 
his last words, and sinking lower and lower his 
freed spirit winged its flight to its home in 
heaven. 

Some years ago a beautiful little girl died in 
our neighborhood. Just before her departure, 
she reached out her little hand, as if to take 
hold of something, exclaiming, "O papa, doitit 
you see those beautiful birds ? Do catch them for me." 

There is no doubt that when the soul is plum- 
ing its wings for its everlasting flight there is a 
point just before severing its connection with its 



118 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

earthly tabernacle, that it sees the gathering" 
angels and its eternal home. The above state- 
ment I had from the little girl's father, and 
there is no question as to its truthfulness. 

"If the form of the human body here be not 
essentially the form of the one in the future 
world, why is it that modest, retiring saints are 
sometimes before their departure, and while all 
their senses are in a natural condition, permitted 
to see heavenly visitants around them, essen- 
tially humau in appearance, but transcendently 
beautiful ? I myself have been present on one 
such occasion, when the lady, a few hours before 
her death, felt somewhat distressed that her 
friends could not behold and enjoy with- her the 
exceedingly beautiful and glorious angelic forms 
appearing around her. Her deathbed scene 
marked an era in my professional life, the re- 
membrance of which has been a source of untold 
encouragement amid discouragements. Her last 
words — I am going to be forever with the Lord — 
were uttered in tones and accents that I never 
heard before, nor since, nor ever expect to hear 
again in this world. If what I there heard from 
the mortal lips of a modest, retiring, pious, 
dying mother be any indication of the capabili- 
ties of immortal vocal powers, it may assuredly 
be said : That the mind of man is utterly unable 
to conceive of what awaits the dying Christian? " 
— From Dr. Wm. KenVs Christian Philosophy, just 
from the press. 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 119 

' 'Hobbes, the infidel, could never bear to talk 
of death. His mind was haunted with torment- 
ing reflections. If his candle went out in the 
night, while he was in bed, he was in misery. 
As he descended to the grave, he said he was 
about to take a leap in the dark. 

' 'Voltaire has just returned from a feast of 
applause in the theater, to be laid on a bed of 
death, in the agonies of an upraiding conscience. 
The physician enters. 'Doctor,' said the apostle 
of infidelity, with the utmost consternation, 'I 
am abandoned by God and man. I will give you 
half of what I am worth if you will give me six 
months of life.' The physician told him he 
could not live six weeks. 'Then,' said he, 'I 
shall go to hell.' 

"Then his conspiracy comes before him, and, 
alternately supplicating and blaspheming, he 
complains that he is abandoned by God and man 
and often cries out: 'O Christ! O Jesus Christ!' 
Ah ! he is beginning to look on Him whom he pierced ! 
He is drinking the cup of trembling! the fore- 
taste of the second death. The Mareschal De 
Richelieu flies from the scene, declaring it 'too 
terrible to be sustained.' The physicians, thun- 
derstruck, retire, declaring 'the death of the 
impious man to be terrible indeed.' One of t'hem 
pronounces that 'the furies of Orestes could give 
but a faint idea of those of Voltaire.' 

"Which death do you prefer dying, that of 



120 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

the Christian or the infidel ? " — From Mcllvaine's 
Lectures. 

SIZE OF THE UNIVERSE. 

"The number of heavenly bodies is too vast 
for human comprehension. To form some idea 
of the largeness of this earth one may look 
upon the landscape from the top of an ordinary 
church steeple, and then bear in mind that one 
must view 900,000 similar landscapes to get an 
approximately correct idea of the size of the 
earth. Place 500 earths like ours side by side, 
yet Saturn's uttermost ring would easily inclose 
them. 300,000 worlds like ours could be stored 
away inside the sun, if it were hollow. If the 
human eye every hour was capable of looking 
upon a fresh measure of world surface 14,000 
square kilometers large the eye would need 
55,000 years to overlook the surface of the sun. 
To reach the nearest fixed star one must travel 
33,000,000,000 of kilometers, and if the velocity 
were equal to that of a cannon ball, it would 
require 5,000,000 years to travel the distance. 
On a clear night an ordinary eye can discover 
about 1,000 stars in the northern hemisphere, 
most of which send their light from distances 
which we can not measure. Round these 1,000 
stars circle 50,000 other stars of various sizes. 
Besides single stars we know of systems of stars 
moving round one another. Still we are but a 



AUTHORITY OP THE BIBLE. 121 

short way into space as yet! Outside our limits 
of vision and imagination there are no doubt 
still larger spaces. The milky way holds prob- 
ably at least 20,191,000 stars, and as each is a 
sun, we presume it is encircled by at least fifty 
planets. Counting up these figures, we arrive 
at the magnitude of 1,000,955,000 stars. A thou- 
sand million of stars ! Who can comprehend it ? 
Still this is only a part of the universe. The 
modern telescopes have discovered more and 
similar milky ways still farther away. We 
know of some 6,000 nebula which represent 
milky ways like ours. Let us count 2,000 of 
them as being of the size of our milky way, then 
2,000 by 20,191,000 equals 40,382,000,000 suns, 
or 2,019,100,000,000 heavenly bodies.— From Dr. 
Kent's Substantial Christian Philosophy. 

Once on a time it is said a mighty angel flying 
at the rate of 100,000 miles an hour set out upon 
a tour of exploration of the universe. He was 
to make regular reports of his progress. Sailing 
upon level wing he passed suns and stars and 
systems of worlds, flying onward and onward 
and onward for tens of thousands of years. 
Finding no end in that direction, he plunges 
down through space millions and billions of 
miles. No end in that direction! He now mounts 
and sours, passing blazing suns, flaming stars, 
fiery comets, flashing meteors, worlds circling 
round worlds, system round system, below, 



122 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

above, orbits crossing orbit at every angle, all 
moving and gleaming and glowing without im- 
pinging one upon another. Millions of years 
that angel has been soaring and towering amidst 
illimitable space and boundless creation and has 
not yet reached the limits of space and creation. 

Such is the infinite empire of Jehovah, the 
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, "who so loved 
the ivorld, as to give his only begotten Son, that who- 
soever believeth on him should not 'perish, but have 
everlasting life" 

Such is the God of the Bible — a loving Father, 
a compassionate Savior, an ever living and ever 
present God. 

This Sovereign Ruler of the Universe offers 
to every penitent sinner peace and pardon and a 
blissful immortality beyond the grave upon the 
acceptance of his Son, Jesus Christ, as his 
Savior. 

Have you done this? Will you do it? Will 
you be freed from sin? Will you be washed 
and purified, and sanctified, and made whiter 
than snow? Will you have peace w T ith God and 
have the love of God shed abroad in your hearts 
by the Holy Ghost, and, dying, have a home in 
heaven beyond the precincts of time and the 
blight of death. 

Time hastens — the grave is opening beneath 
your feet — the resurrection morn is coming — 
the judgment is approaching — are you prepared 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 125 

to meet these solemn realities? If not, why 
not? God is calling yon to repentance — minis- 
ters are preaching— Christians are praying — the 
Holy Spirit is wooing — angels are looking on 
with holy interest. Will you neglect this great 
salvation? Behold, now is the accepted time. 
Behold, now is the day of salvation! 

SUMMARY. 

I have shown the existence of God from the 
religious feeling with which man is endowed; 
from the universal sense of sin, which neces- 
sarily implies a law and a lawgiver; the works 
of creation, their beauty, harmony and design, 
manifesting infinite power and intelligence; 
from the deepest intuitions of reason and the 
human heart; from man's moral and spiritual 
nature; from conscience, which recognizes a dif- 
ference between the moral qualities of actions; 
from the presence of life in this world, it being 
admitted on all hands that life can be derived 
only from pre-existent life. 

It is proven that the abundant provisions 
everywhere made for man's comfort and happi- 
ness show God to be a benevolent being — that 
this benevolence would prompt him to make a 
revelation of himself to man and unfold to him 
a knowledge of his origin, duty and destiny; 
that in the book known amongst us as the Bible 
we have this revelation, in that it gives to us a 



124 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

rational and consistent account of the creation 
of the world, unfolds to us everything pertain- 
ing to our interest and happiness, and is in 
every respect worthy of God. It meets and an- 
swers all the great problems, such as the be- 
ginning of things; the origin of life; the entrance 
of man on this sphere; how sin entered this 
beautiful world; how death came; the curse of 
labor, and the unfolding of a future and eternal 
state. All these questions have engaged the 
attention and called forth the inquiries of the 
mightiest minds through all ages. But it was 
all in vain. They never found any solution of 
them. The Bible alone meets and answers 
them. 

We have presented in this book the origin and 
history of the Israelites, the strangest and most 
wonderful people that ever lived. We have an 
account of Moses, their great leader and deliv- 
erer, and the mighty miracles he wrought in 
Egypt — miracles performed in the presence of 
friend and foe; miracles the most public and pal- 
pable, witnessed by millions of spectators, of 
such a nature as to absolutely preclude the pos- 
sibility of delusion. The miracles being estab- 
lished, proves beyond peradventure the divine 
mission of Moses, and the interposition of God 
in their behalf. 

In confirmation of these wonderful events we 
presented the fact that memorial institutions, 



AUTHORITY OP THE BIBLE. 125 

such as the Passover, were set up at the time of 
their occurrence and have been continued down 
to the present time. It is shown further that 
the religious burdens imposed by the Mosaic 
economy were so great that no people would 
have submitted to them unless they were satis- 
fied that they were the commands of God — that 
no human legislator, without divine sanction, 
would have forbid the sowing of the land every 
seventh year, from the fact that such an enact- 
ment, without God's providential care, would 
have resulted in famine. 

The moral law is shown to have been of di- 
vine origin, because it is perfect and sweeps the 
whole field of duty both to God and man, and 
human wisdom has never been able to suggest 
any amendment. 

Additional proof was adduced from prophecy 
and its exact fulfillment. 

We establish the divinity of Christ from the 
promises and prophecies respecting his coming, 
the lofty purity of his character, his marvellous 
wisdom, his infinite power, and his tender com- 
passion — his divinity being established neces- 
sarily establishes the divine origin and author- 
ity of the Bible. Other proofs of his divinity 
were presented in the various types respecting 
his character and works — such as the Passover 
lamb, the brazen serpent, the smitten rock, etc. ; 
the fact that he voluntarily died for his enemies. 



126 THE DIVINE ORIGIN AND 

the only instance of the kind on record; his par- 
ables, which have no parallel in history, and all 
the world can not write one such to-day; his 
resurrection the crowning proof. Further proof 
was presented in the testimony of angels, that 
of the Father, the Holy Spirit, Pilate's wife, the 
Centurion, Judas, demons, the convulsions of 
nature at his crucifixion, his prophecy respect- 
ing the destruction of Jerusalem. 

By another and independent line of argument 
I show that all the great doctrines of the Scrip- 
tures are interwoven into the whole fabric and 
constitution of things, and are accepted by the 
whole race. 

An additional proof was presented in the 
adaptation of the Christian religion to the wants 
of man, providing for the pardon of his sins, the 
purification of his nature, the elevation of his 
affections, his comfort in sickness and his sup- 
port in death. 

Again, an original and overwhelming evidence 
is derived from every man's experience, w T hether 
he be saint or sinner. He is made to testify 
against himself and in favor of the divine au- 
thority of the Bible. 

Christianity and infidelity contrasted — both 
progressive, but in opposite directions, one go- 
ing downward, the other upward; one leading 
to hell and misery, the other to heaven and hap- 
piness. 



AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE. 127 

Some objections answered and turned into 
proofs of the inspiration of the Bible. 

Difficulties of Infidelity shown to be insur- 
mountable. 

Mr. Ingersoll plied with questions and pressed 
to give a single solid objection to the Bible — 
which he fails to do. 

The system of the universe not a system of 
inflexible natural law, as commonly taught, but 
a system of law modified by other laws, and man 
has this power of modification. 



tit 



